Paying our Respects at Arlington

By Saturday morning we were so ready to be done with DC, but we had just 2 more stops that we couldn't leave without seeing.

The Pentagon was not one of them. We were all perfectly happy to drive past it. "Hey, there's the Pentagon." "Cool."

No, the first place that we needed to see was Arlington National Cemetery.

It was huge and the headstones went on forever - proud Americans who fought for this country and offered their all for the cause of freedom.

I got a different feeling here than I had at Normandy which surprised me. My feelings of grief were so much stronger there, but here I felt more peace. I think that was because at Normandy all of those headstones were for soldiers who had died in just a matter of 3 days on that very spot of ground - such a huge a sudden loss, even if it did change the tide of WWII and lead to ultimate glorious victory. It was profoundly heart-wrenching to think about.

I think it comforted me here at Arlington that while many of these tombstones were placed over soldiers who died in battle, many of the men and women buried here survived war and went on to lead long happy lives. There are soldiers from every war and conflict in American history buried here. All deserve our gratitude and honor.

We hiked up to JKF's burial place to see the eternal flame.

The view from up there was wonderful! It was a misty day, but we could still easily make out the Washington Monument and the Capitol.

Here you can see right into the back of the Jefferson Memorial just over the river from the cemetery.

Then it started to rain!

It stared pouring down and the tombstones all got darker as they became soaked.

We were way out into the cemetery by then and there was no where to run for cover, so we just kept on going in the rain.

We arrived at the Tomb of the Unknowns just as they were finishing off the changing of the guard. We were kind of bummed to have missed it, but we stayed and watched the fresh guard take his march back and forth across the pad in front of the tomb. He takes exactly 21 steps, stops for 21 seconds, turns toward the tomb for 21 seconds, turns again, moves his gun to the side away from the tomb and walks back across with 21 steps again.

Twenty one represents a 21 gun salute which is the highest honor given to heroes, and the gun is always on the side of the audience away from the tomb to show that the guard will always protect the tomb. The guard does not march, but glides so smoothly that his head and gun don't bobble at all, and his serious expression does not change at all. It is mesmerizing to watch him pace back and forth.

We were glad we stayed because there was suddenly some activity, and a guard came out and announced that they would now have a wreath ceremony with a wreath presented by some family.

It was so interesting to watch as the family came out to watch as the old wreath was removed from the stand in front of the tomb, and replaced with their beautiful wreath.

Then everyone saluted as Taps was played on the bugle. It was beautiful and gave me goosebumps to hear taps played in honor of all those who gave their lives for freedom, especially on an overcast, misty somber day.

Within a few moments of the end of the wreath ceremony, a guard came out one more and announced that there would be a second wreath ceremony.

This time the wreath was laid on behalf of a Boy Scout troop, and it was done exactly as the first one was done, only they took the wreath that had just been laid a few minutes before and placed it around on the other side of the tomb.

I thought it was so cool that those scouts did that. What a wonderful experience for them. I loved seeing them stand at attention and salute like that as Taps was played once again. I wish my boys could do that?

These guards, or sentinels, take their job very seriously. They take great care to do everything with precision and exactness, even when no one is there watching when the cemetery is closed. They are there guarding the tomb 24 hours a day every day of every year. They even keep it up during hurricanes and severe snow storms and feel it an honor to be out there.

The Tomb of the Unknowns represents every soldier who was killed in battle and their bodies were never identified and returned to their families. They are those who truly did give their all for their country - not only their lives but their identities as well, and for this they are given the highest honor possible, by these sentinels, and hopefully from us as well.

And before we left, there was another changing of the guards. It was beautiful to watch.

The salute.

Their vigilant watch over the tomb continues.

I am so grateful that this nation honors our heroes this way, and I am glad my children were able to see this. I hope they felt some of what I felt here.

In the back there is a large marble amphitheater that I suppose is used for funerals and memorials.

Not sure who the big marble throne is for since at funerals the guest of honor is usually not seated.

It kept raining so we decided it was time to head out.

Heading over the bridge in the rain near the Lincoln Monument.

We took some back roads through the city and drove past the National Catherdral. The homes were so beautiful! I loved the look of those tree-lined neighborhoods, but the rain and the huge RV meant we didn't stop for decent pictures.

This was the last thing we had to see before leaving DC - the temple! It is beautiful! It was so breath-taking when we first saw it, jutting up out of the trees into the cloudy sky. It reminds me in some ways of the San Diego temple as it is striking in the same way.

Of course, the rainy weather made for some pretty lousy pictures, so this was the best one I could get.

We did visit the Visitors Center which was nicely done.

They had what looked like a full house inside the visitors center, with a full kitchen and living room. You could curl up on the couch to watch the "I am a Mormon" spots on the TV, or get on the family computer to do some family history. The kids thought that was pretty cool, and I had to drag them away.