7-21-19 Washington DC III

A bit of irony is that Martha and George Washington’s great-granddaughter, Mary Custis, married Robert E. Lee, a north and south clash within one family.  The Arlington Plantation was a part of the Custis estate, which Mary inherited, and she and her husband lived there for a time.  Robert E. Lee accepted the Command of the Confederate Army when the Civil War broke out and the southern states began to secede from the Union.  At that time, the Arlington Plantation was confiscated as a spoil of the war and to insure that Robert E. Lee would never return, they buried Union soldiers’ remains on the property.  They didn’t return.  Their son Curtis demanded that the property be returned and was refused.  The case was taken all the way to the Supreme Court which ruled that the land must be returned to the Lees.  The Lees did not want the soldiers’ bodies to be disturbed and ultimately, Curtis Lee sold the plantation to the government for $150,000.  This land evolved into Arlington National Cemetery.

Arlington is now the final resting place of over 400,000 patriots and their families as well as a few Confederate soldiers and slaves.  Many of the graves contain the remains of more than one individual and sometimes, groups or a family so the number of internments is approximate.  The headstones are aligned such that they are symmetric from any angle and the rows continue over the rolling hillocks until they begin to blend together as if the ground were covered with snow.  It feels like a weight crushing the heart.

Twenty one steps, twenty one seconds at the end of
the mat, twenty one steps back, over and over
perpetually.  Magnificent.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is the most sacred shrine in America.  The remains lying here represent all heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives and their identity in the service of their country.  On the lowest level lies a soldier from WWI, on the next level a soldier from WWII and the Korean War.  The third level is empty because DNA testing has now made soldiers’ identification always possible.  The 3^rd US Infantry Regiment, the “Old Guard,” has kept constant vigil at the tomb since 1932, whether in deep snow, sleet, hail or hurricanes.  The sentry is relieved at varying intervals depending on the season (every 30 minutes in the summer).  The Changing of the Guard ceremony is solemn and magnificent.  The guards are sheer, spotless perfection, not a speck of dust or a microscopic imperfection.  The sentry coming on is inspected, his weapon is inspected and the moves of the soldiers are exactly flawless.  If you have no other reason to visit DC, the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is most worthy.  This display of pageantry is deeply moving to behold.

The US Marines were appointed the task of taking the island of Iwo Jima, a strategic location for the USA to stage the campaign against Imperial Japan.  It had 3 airstrips from which the invasion could be launched.  In the end, they succeeded in securing the island, after 36 of the bloodiest days of the war, but at a dear price.  Our Marines suffered 26,000 casualties and 6,800 deaths, their largest losses ever in one campaign.  The Marines planted a flag at the top of Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945 after they completed their orders to capture the mountain.  The Marine Corps Memorial at Arlington, modeled on the photo snapped by journalist Joe Rosenthal depicts the six Marines who struggled to raise the American flag on Mount Suribachi.  It was sculpted by Felix de Weldon.  The colossal monument, 78 feet tall and weighing hundreds of tons, is breathtaking and it is difficult to turn and walk away. - continued

US Marines Memorial at Arlington.
The flag waves on the mast perpetually
by orders of Ike.