And
I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property, I'm on sacred ground and
I'm in the best of company, I'm thankful for those thankful for the things I've
done, I can rest in peace, I'm one of the chosen ones, I made it to Arlington.
- Trace Adkins
Whenever I’m in Washington D.C., one of the
places I always like to visit is Arlington National Cemetery, just across the
Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia. It’s the most famous of all military
cemeteries in America, and is home to everyone from President John F. Kennedy
to Audie Murphy and Captain Charles Frank Burlingame, US Navy, the pilot of
American Airlines Flight 77, which was crashed by terrorists into the Pentagon
on 9/11.
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| C.F. Burlingame III, US Navy; deceased on September 11, 2001 |
The cemetery grounds were once the home of
Robert E. Lee, the commanding general of the Confederate armies in the Civil
War (and one of the greatest military minds in American history), and the
property was seized once he seceded with his beloved Virginia. Now, it is perhaps
the most hallowed place in the entire United States. Lee’s house has been
restored to what it would have looked like the day he left for Richmond, VA to
take command of the southern armies, after turning down a personal request from
President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union forces instead, for Lee didn’t want
to have to be part of a force invading his native Virginia.
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| The Lincoln Memorial |
Arlington National Cemetery is an equally sad and fascinating place, where we are reminded that America is still fighting a war, and that the cost of war is impossibly high. There are up to27 funeral services a day – we saw one in progress – and there are hundreds of thousands of headstones, stretching into the distance, seemingly forever, immaculately presented against lush green grass, so many men (and women) having made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. It’s a very sobering, sombre place to visit, where talking and wearing hats are not encouraged, but quiet reflection is.
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| The graves of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy |
The story of John F. Kennedy’s visit to
Arlington months before his assassination in Dallas, Texas is now the stuff of
legend. He remarked to that he “could stay here forever” and so, after that
fateful day when JFK became the fourth American president to be assassinated,
he was buried on a slope, below Lee’s Arlington House, and with an expansive
view of Washington D.C. He was later joined by his wife, Jacqueline, brother
Robert (also assassinated) and two still-born children. It’s a stark reminder
of how the Kennedy family is cursed.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier contains the unidentified remains of an American serviceman from World War One, and a posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor, Victoria Cross and other citations for bravery from foreign nations. The tomb, with a stunning view of Washington D.C. and the Potomac, is guarded 24-7 in all weather, by men from the United States Army's 3rd Division - the Old Guard - and a changing of the guard is performed hourly. It's quite something to see such military precision, and another chance for recollection. Every country had a soldier who died for their flag yet could not be identified. It's a relief, at least, to know that most have been brought home and are buried in their native land.
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| The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier |
To every American soldier, sailor and airman (and woman) who's made the
ultimate sacrifice to make this country such a great place to visit, and
for keeping so many of my friends here safe...thank you.
Back on the other side of the Potomac
River, we visited some of the best and most famous monuments and landmarks in
Washington D.C.: the Lincoln Memorial, the White House (with the National
Christmas Tree in front, and protesters on a hunger strike standing on
Pennsylvania Avenue), the majestic Capitol Building, the National Mall and
Lafayette Park. The towering Washington Monument is closed, due to repairs from
an earthquake that made the structure unstable, way back in 2011.
I didn’t see any cavalcades speeding
through the streets under police escort, but there were a heap of military
helicopters flying from the city across the Potomac River in the general direction
of the Pentagon, up-river. We were stopped by United States Secret Service as a
group of vehicles with heavily-tinted windows were ushered through a security
checkpoint en route to the White House. I’d love to know who was inside!
The most interesting stop of the day for me
was Ford’s Theatre, where Abraham Lincoln was shot by Confederate sympathiser
John Wilkes Booth. You also tour the Petersen House across the street, where
the dying president was taken to after being evacuated from Ford’s. The next
morning, at 7.22am, Lincoln became the first president to be assassinated.
Spookily, his son, Robert Todd Lincoln, was present or nearby during the
assassinations of two more presidents: James A. Garfield and William McKinley. Like
the Kennedy clan, the Lincoln’s seem to be a little cursed, too.
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| Where Lincoln was shot |
Later in the evening, we did a night-time
trolley tour of Washington D.C., which included stops at the Franklin Delano
Roosevelt and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. memorials in the District and, across
in Potomac, the United States Marine Corps Memorial, a towering statue of the
iconic image of US Marines raising the American flag atop Mt Suribachi during
the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War Two. Washington is an impossibly beautiful
city at night.
A busy day – I’m going to sleep well
tonight! Off to New York City tomorrow!
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