Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery is one of over 100 National Cemeteries. It is by far the most famous National Cemetery. Arlington and the U.S. Soldiers' & Airmen's Home National Cemetery are the only two National Cemeteries maintained by the Department of Army National Cemeteries. There are also handfuls of National Cemeteries that are maintained by other organizations such as the National Park Service. I thought this was interesting. I couldn't find out why exactly this was the case, but alas, it is. There are approximately 4 million visitors each year to the cemetery and over 310,000 people buried with a range from the Revolutionary War dead to those that have died in Iraq and Afganistan. There are also many notable civilian figures buried in the cemetery.

I decided we were going to cheat and take the tourmobile around the cemetery. I think it was one of the best decisions I made, that day anyways. Don't get me wrong, there will be a day I walk the cemetery, but it wasn't going to be that next to last day of a vacation where I'd walked between 7 and 10 miles each day already. Below you can see Josh in the mirror while we were waiting for the bus to fill up.


Even though I've seen hundreds, if not thousands of pictures of the cemetery and headstone, it doesn't feel real until you see it with your own eyes. I was in awe of the row and rows and that expanse of land that these headstones were spread out on. I was also surprised to see headstones that differed from the typical white ones you see below. There are many in certain sections that aren't this size and shape.

One of the most visited graves in the world is that of President John F. Kennedy. He was buried at Arlington three days after being shot and killed while in Dallas, TX. He is only one of two US Presidents to be buried in the cemetery, the other being Taft. President Kennedy is buried with his wife Jackie O and two children, one son who died two days after birth and a daughter that was stillborn. This is the location of the Eternal Flame requested by Jackie Kennedy and inspired by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris.

View of the Arlington House, also where Robert E Lee and Mary Custis, the step great-granddaughter of George Washington lived. The house has an interesting history, much of which I can't recall from the tour, but that you and I can read here. We eventually ran out of time to go to see Arlington House and the Robert E Lee Memorial...something to add to my list for the next time I visit DC. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful building to see from below at the JFK gravesite.

The Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

While visiting we witnessed the changing of the guards twice. It was an interesting moving ceremony to see. The Tomb has been guarded by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year since July 2, 1937.

The Memorial Ampitheatre

Memorials to the Columbia, the USS Maine, and the Challenger.

The Tomb of the Unknowns from below it.

Josh and I with Arlington, the Washington Monument and Capitol Building in the background.

After spending some time, but not enough time to see everything, at Arlington, we headed over to the Marine Corp War Memorial, aka Iwo Jima Memorial. It depicts 6 Marines raising the US Flag at Iwo Jima. To read more about the flag raisers click here.

After the Iwo Jima Memorial we headed back to Josh's for Easter dinner, his request-corned beef and cabbage with potatoes and carrots. Yummm....it was delicious.