Arlington National Cemetery
written by vtayeh
on October 21st, 2009
, 6 comments
(5 votes)
Washington D.C. has many historic sites, monuments, etc. So how do I just choose one to write about? Of course, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument all came across my mind but then I thought about the meaning behind the these monuments, well there was a clear one in my mind that I wanted to share: The Tomb Of The Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery.
Arlington National Cemetery was originally set up during the civil war when the families couldn’t afford to bring back the departed. Since then, the cemetery is not just for the fallen soldiers but also for American heroes like Space Shuttle Astronauts, Supreme Court Justices and U.S. Presidents like John F Kennedy.
The Tomb of the Unknown is guarded at all times by a soldier and it just so happened that by chance, we were there to witness the change of the guard ceremony. It was interesting to see the soldier marching precisely back and forth while his commander relieves him of duty. The guards perform the ceremony so seriously with honor and in totally silence while some 60 odd tourists stood on the steps above them, flashing away with their digital cameras.
When you walk through the cemetery to get to the Tomb of the Unknown, you’ll see so many rows of white marble tombstones with various names and religious symbols engraved in them. I realized that each grave represents a particular person and the family he/she belongs to. But when you get to the Tomb of the Unknown, there’s a special engraving: “Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God” When I read this, I thought it was just as powerful as having your own individual gravestone with a name. People from all over, come to pay their respects and will never forget about these fallen heroes.
Please login or register to use this feature.