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Flags in for Memorial Day #210064 05/28/16 10:13 AM
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Dave H Offline OP
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“Flags in” is observed the week before Memorial Day each year. The members of the Old Guard place a flag at each of the approximately 230,000 graves within Arlington National Cemetery – in 4 hours!

As we approach Memorial Day it is important to remember why this holiday exists. This is from an email I received from the VA and sums it up nicely:
Quote:
Memorial Day is a special time for Americans to honor and remember all who have died while serving in the Armed Forces. Join us in honoring them with thanks and appreciation at VA national cemeteries. To view a full list of nationwide ceremonies, visit the VA Memorial Day Ceremonies page.


As a kid, I grew up not far from what is probably the best known cemetery in the country, if not the world – Arlington National Cemetery. We would visit periodically and when I was old enough to drive I used to enjoy visiting. Few people see the entirely, or the “back 40” but the entire area is beautiful. In the old days people could drive onto the cemetery without passes. I am able to continue to do so as my father is buried at ANC. If you have never witnessed the changing of the guard at The Tomb of the Unknowns you have missed out on a piece of history, a tradition carried out day in and day out by the members of the Army’s Old Guard.

Visiting any national cemetery can be an experience that is humbling as well as incredibly interesting. Walking through the headstones is like walking through the history of our country. Depending on where the cemetery is, it can contain graves for soldiers from the Revolutionary War to the War of 1812, Civil War, and up to today’s current conflicts. You can see where the soldier was from, and how old they were. You will see how young many of these men were when they gave their life in service to their country. I keep saying “men” because up until recent conflicts it was rare for a woman to be killed in the service though several did serve in various capacities. Actually, women were not able to actually enlist until WWI.

If you have visited the Point Loma lighthouse, you drove right through a very beautiful national cemetery, the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Fort Rosecrans was also recently identified as one of the world's most beautiful cemeteries.

Sometime, if you happen to visit a national cemetery or a veteran’s section of your local cemetery, you might notice coins placed on top of headstones. There is actually a guideline associated with this tradition. Should you just be visiting or if you knew the person, you would leave a penny. If you went to boot camp or trained with the person you would leave a nickel. If you served with the person you would leave a dime, and if you were with them when they were killed, a quarter. Periodically the cemetery caretakers will collect the coins and use them to help pay for upkeep or pay for the funerals if indigent veterans. At some national cemeteries various groups will periodically walk through the grounds placing pennies on tombstones. Placing coins on a tombstone is a way for someone to tell the person’s family that you have visited and also serves as a way to pay your respect to the dead.

Not every cemetery is able to be as well maintained as places like Arlington or Fort Rosecrans. When I am in New Orleans I always try to visit the Chalmette National Cemetery. This cemetery in now under the care of the National Park Service as it is at capacity. The headstones were often tilting as they had been in place for many, many years. They needed to be cleaned. In an email from the National Trust, they indicated that the trust and the National Park Service had joined together in a project to clean headstones to bring back the names of the deceased, reset the headstones and clean up the cemetery. The pictures show it looking much nicer than the last time I visited several years ago.

Even though I said you do not find many women in the older cemetery sections, at Chalmette you will find one from the Civil War:
Quote:
Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, a woman who posed as a man in order to join the Union Army, is interred in grave No. 4,066 under her nom de guerre, Lyons Wakeman. A volunteer with the New York Infantry, she saw battle at Red River. She managed to keep her gender a secret until her death in 1864.


Other interesting articles:
From the Washington Post:
At Arlington Cemetery, reflecting on the cost of our freedom

From US News & World Report:
Put Memorializing Back in Memorial Day

Re: Flags in for Memorial Day [Re: Dave H] #210065 05/28/16 01:37 PM
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flacoastie Offline
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I plan to be buried (along with Amy) at the new National Cemetery in Jacksonville, FL. There is another fairly new National Cemetery in Bushnell, FL but both of our kids live in Jacksonville and that's where I was first stationed while in the Navy and also where I met my beautiful wife of 52 years and counting.


Rich
Re: Flags in for Memorial Day [Re: Dave H] #210075 05/30/16 03:06 PM
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The Cape Cod Store.com Offline
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My Father-in-law and Mother-in-law are both buried in Bourne National Cemetery here on Cape Cod, as are two of my uncles. My father-in-law was a POW to the Japanese in WWII for a short time. Much respect to all!!


Roland Babineau
The only true Harbour Lights dealer left in the world and the ONLY retailer in the world authorized to sell Harry Hine's lighthouse collectible line!
http://www.thecapecodstore.com/harbor_lights.html
Re: Flags in for Memorial Day [Re: Dave H] #210078 05/30/16 04:14 PM
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Dave H Offline OP
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Quite the family history, Roland. Knowing how the Japanese POWs were treated I am glad that your uncle was held for just a short time.

My father was also a POW, albeit for a very short time. During the Battle of the Bulge he was wounded and captured. Fortunately for him, US forces were able to overrun the town where he was being held and free those in captivity.


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