Strangely, I've never seen the eternal flame or even the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Tomb Guards amaze me with their dedication and attention to detail but I've never seen the changing of the guard, the times I've been there are for family funerals and visiting their graves. Ft. Myer, the accompanying military base houses the chapel that many of Arlington's funeral are held and is also the church that my parents were married in and I was baptized in. In some ways, this is the center of part of my family's universe, the alpha and the omega.
Last year, Ms. Angry Middle and I visited the post, we were on a short vacation and we wanted to see my grandfather (and grandmother's) grave. My grandfather passed away about three years ago and I had not been able to see the headstone. A military funeral is one of the most incredible things you will ever see, the dedication of the Old Guard, the Arlington Lady, the playing of taps, the rifle volleys, the officer in charge handing the flag over to the next of kin, all done with incredible dedication, precision and compassion with an attention to every detail. The Army seems to look at the death of each soldier as the death of a member of its own family, whether it be an old, retired Puerto Rican soldier who served his country during the Second World War, Korean War, Vietnam War and onto peacetime or a brave teenager from the midwest killed by an IED in Bagdhad or Bagram.
As I prayed at the site of the old soldier and his wife, I looked over at the surrounding graves, some of which were more recently filled with much younger soldiers. I thought back to his funeral before in the fall of 2003, my family lined around the grave as we said our final goodbyes to my grandfather. The ceremony gripping us tightly around our grief. It was a sad time, but my grandfather had always wanted this, to be buried amongst heroes, and fellow veterans. My brother in law was due to deploy to Afghanistan in 36 hours, and he and my sister had driven up from Fort Bragg. Dressed in his Class A uniforms with maroon beret and jump boots, at the end of the ceremony when the honor guard had cleared, and few of us were watching, the young specialist deftly marched up to my grandfather's coffin, snapped to attention and quickly gave a minute long salute to the old veteran. The torch had been passed to a new generation of warrior.
Memorial Day is a special day, it is meant to remember those who have passed in service to our country. To me however it is a day to remember all who have served and who continue to serve. No matter what our politics are or our feelings on war and foreign policy, it's a day to salute all who have served. Arlington is a symbol of this love of country of this "giving the last measure of devotion" to a nation the served. So as we fire up a grill, sit in traffic or just take what we feel is a good day off, remember...
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