624 acres

A Life Aloft

Well-Known Member
One hundred fifty years ago, Arlington’s first grave was tilled, hollowed, the first soldier was laid down, and the first headstone was planted. Private William Henry Christman of Monroe County, Pennsylvania was 20 years old on March 25, 1864 when he volunteered with the 67th Regiment in the Union Army. He was described in his enlistment papers as having sandy hair and gray eyes with a scar on the left side of his neck.

As Memorial Day approaches this is the time that we remember the men women who served and gave their lives for this county and it's citizens in all of the past wars and conflicts where Americans served and died.

"Those who say that we are in a time where there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look".----Ronald Reagan


Boys, mere boys flying bombers over Europe during World War II. The first Patriots of this nation who served in the Continental Army..... these men were not really soldiers, they were farmers, shoemakers, bakers, inn keepers, teachers,etc. From Cantigny to Manila Bay to Saratoga, to Heartbreak Ridge, to Khe Sanh, to Huế to Kandahar, to Mazar-i-Sharif, to Kabul to Fallujah to Mosul, to Tongo Tongo.

48288


48289


48290



Then there are the fallen who never made it home.

The final resting places of over 124,000 U.S. Servicemen are at far away, hallowed grounds, not always known to their countrymen. They are America's overseas Military cemeteries.

There are 26 cemeteries in 17 foreign countries, ranging from the Philippines, to Hawaii, to England, France, Luxemburg, and Italy, to Tunisia, and Mexico City. Perhaps the only overseas cemetery well known to many, is the cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy, which was featured in the film "Saving Private Ryan."

The Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in France:

48291


But it is in these cemeteries that the toll of a century of war, sacrifice, heroism and death unfolds. Those cemeteries also serve as markers in the ebb and flow of history across the years of America's involvement in two world wars.

Just in Belleau Woods where our Marines fought in the woods for nearly a month, and in the end.....1,811 Americans had been killed and nearly 8,000 were counted as either wounded or missing in Belleau Woods.

In all, some 116,516 Americans died in the First World War.


And then, there are our missing. POWs and those simply labeled as "Missing In Action."

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. At the end of the war, there were approximately 79,000 Americans unaccounted for. This number included those buried with honor as unknowns, officially buried at sea, lost at sea, and missing in action.

Today, more than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted for from WWII.

Korean War. More than 7,800 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the Korean War.

From the Cold War, 126 U.S. Servicemen remain unaccounted for.

Vietnam. There are close to 1,700 Americans classified as either MIA or POWs who never returned.




I ask that all of you remember our men and women who fought and died in service for this nation and how their essence, their personal history, their souls and their blood are a tremendous and honorable telling of our country's being and history. They once were wives, daughters, sisters, Mothers, sons, uncles, Fathers and brothers. They all belong to our own American family, each and every one of us. They are a part of who we are and we owe them a debt that can never really be repaid. They are a part of our past, our present and our future. Never forget them.

Just in Afghanistan, there have been 2,374 U.S. military deaths. 1,856 of these deaths have been the result of hostile action. 20,320 American Service Members have also been wounded in action during the war.

In Iraq, there have been 4,494 total deaths (including both killed in action and non-hostile) and 31,952 wounded in action.

48292



48293



48294



48295
 
Last edited:
I agree with everything...except the recognition of POWs/MIAs. Not to sound crass -- my father is a former POW/MIA -- but I would like to remind everyone that Memorial Day is reserved for those that gave their lives in service to our great country. POWs/MIAs are recognized on their own specific day, the third Friday in September.

Thank you to all that have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the United States of America!
 
I agree with everything...except the recognition of POWs/MIAs. Not to sound crass -- my father is a former POW/MIA -- but I would like to remind everyone that Memorial Day is reserved for those that gave their lives in service to our great country. POWs/MIAs are recognized on their own specific day, the third Friday in September.

Thank you to all that have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the United States of America!

I realize that the MIA/POWs have their own special Memorial Day as you have mentioned, but I include in the original Memorial Day, the POWs and the MIA's who are presumed dead/died, while serving this nation in all the wars and conflicts that America has been involved with/fought, even if their remains have not been recovered or identified. Does not matter if they were captured and died in some POW camp, they escaped a camp but died later before they were rescued, their plane crashed into the sea or into some jungle, they died in some rice paddy or a hill, or swamp or they were blown up on a ship, or how they died......it's that fact that they were active Military members who died while deployed and during a war. These men gave their lives for this nation as well and were engaged in some war, battle, conflict, etc., when they were killed outright or taken as a POW and died later in the country that they were deployed to.

For every POW/MIA Recognition Day since 1982, the POW/MIA flag has flown just below the stars and stripes at the White House and is the only other flag to ever do so. In 1998, Congress ordered it to also be displayed on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day.

The missing man/fallen comrade table, is a ceremony and ritual in honor of all the fallen including, missing or imprisoned Military Service Members. This tradition is also carried out on Memorial Day. Even those Servicemen and women who died in a training accident, are honored on Memorial Day.

Thank your Dad for me and if he is a Nam Vet, tell him I also said 'Welcome Home'.
 
Last edited:
A couple of summers ago, our family visited Washington DC, and we did the tourist bit. I made it a point to take our daughters to both Arlington and to The Women’s Memorial because a woman who was a year behind me in school has her picture in there. If you haven’t visited, I encourage you to do so.

 
Talk about commitment, dedication, duty, discipline, and honor........on Thursday, Arlington was hit hard with torrential rains and wind gusts up to 70mph. Even some trees at Arlington were snapped and broke/fell and were damaged. Everyone was told to stand down during the flags in until the weather improved. Visitors ran for cover and news media piled into vehicles together. The streets flooded.

But that didn't stop one soldier from honoring the fallen and completing his mission. As the thunder shook the ground and the rain poured down, a member of the Old Guard (who stands vigil 24/7 and in every kind of weather, at the tomb of the Unknown(s) Soldier(s)), was seen placing flags at the tomb during the worst part of the storm.

48297


48298


48299


48300





48301


Photos taken by Sgt. Maryam Treece


48302
 
Last edited:
I will tell him and thank you for the response. I almost deleted my post because I know there are plenty of people that are still classified as MIA that should be reclassified -- and correctly honored on Memorial Day -- as KIA. I'm sure that we can all agree that regardless of how they are classified by the government, it doesn't matter what day of the year they are recognized as long as we are honoring their service and sacrifice to our nation.

Happy Memorial Day and, again, thank you to those that paid ultimate price defending our nation.

Edit to add: the Old Guard are badasses! Visiting Arlington should be on everyone's bucket list. Put the phones and cameras away and go sit and watch the Old Guard man their post for a while and soak it in.
 
As if the discipline wasn’t impressive enough, DC was under tornado warning. That squall line was moving over 50mph. It was one for the history books. That soldier was literally at risk.
 
As if the discipline wasn’t impressive enough, DC was under tornado warning. That squall line was moving over 50mph. It was one for the history books. That soldier was literally at risk.

It was an impressive storm. We lost power for a few minutes.
 
48307


7,500 boots are on display at Fort Bragg to honor US service members killed since 9/11


More than 7,500 boots on display at Fort Bragg this month served as a temporary memorial to service members from all branches who have died since 9/11.

48312


The boots — which had the service members' photos and dates of death — were on display for Fort Bragg's Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation's annual Run, Honor and Remember 5k on May 18 and for the 82nd Airborne Division's run that kicked off All American Week.

48310


"It shows the families the service members are still remembered, honored and not forgotten," said Charlotte Watson, program manager of Fort Bragg's Survivor Outreach Services.

48311


The idea for the display came from similar ones at Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The first display at Fort Bragg was in Hedrick Stadium in 2014. It was organized by Fort Bragg's Survivor Outreach Services and Fisher House.

48308


Jonathan Lomax, who was in the Marines for 21 years, was among those who stopped to see the boots and pay his respects on May 17.

Though Lomax knows of Marines who died in combat, he said he hoped he didn't recognize names on the boots as he strolled among the multiple rows on the field at Hedrick Stadium.

"Any loss of life is severe, so all of these are my brothers and sisters,'' Lomax said. "That's the way I look at it."

He paused to reflect on what the boots symbolized.

"It means we've lost good soldiers, a lot of good service members fighting for this country," he said. "And this is just recent. It's not even the ones we've lost before (9/11) — a lot of young people."

This was the fourth year that Beth Grimshaw volunteered to help set up the display.

One of the boots represented Dr. Mark Taylor, a lieutenant colonel who Grimshaw worked with at Womack Army Medical Center. He was a surgeon assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division Forward Surgical Team.

Taylor was killed during a rocket attack on March 20, 2004, in Fallujah, Iraq.

"I've got some friends' husbands who are out here," said Grimshaw, who paused to reflect on May 17. "I'd like to see this out so they're not forgotten."

Heading into Memorial Day, Watson said the boots were on display to serve as a reflection of the sacrifices that all military branches have made.

"The true meaning of Memorial Day is not picnics and barbecues, though those are great things, the meaning is paying tribute," she said.

48309


 
I spent 8 months attached full time to the post Honor Guard when I was stationed at Ft Huachuca, AZ. In my time I did 48 funerals. At the same time, easily the most depressing and rewarding point of my enlistment.

Memorial Day is a special one for everyone who’s served, the sacrifice of those that came before is huge, and can’t be understated / forgotten.
 
Back
Top