Off The Editor’s Desk – 5-31-2017

Needs your help!

The annual Memorial Day passed on Monday and as usual I attended events at four local cemeteries where members of area veterans groups honor their departed comrades.

I have been doing this on Memorial Day for many years, more years than I can recall. I have watched many veterans over the years donate their time and services to honor those who have passed, not only on Memorial Day, but also during the year when one of their numbers dies.

As these years have passed, I have noticed that those members of the veterans organizations also are aging, just like me and it appears to be a challenge for some of those groups to put together a sufficient number of personnel to provide that service at the cemetery.

I hesitate to ask the younger people who have served their country, to pitch in and join a service organization and be involved with the activates that they provide.

I know you have already given of your time and talents in the service of our county, and that makes this request from me a very hard one to ask. But please give it some thought.

While I was writing this, I thought about the year 1983 when our family was visiting in Washington D.C. and attended the Memorial Day Service at Arlington National Cemetery. I was very impressed by the service and watched as many, many wreaths were laid one at a time at the tomb of the Unknowns. 

But, I thought, what a waste of good flowers as one person representing an organization that was providing the flowers escorted the flowers to the tomb while an announcer gave the details of the organization laying the wreath. But as soon as that was concluded, the wreath was removed to allow for the next wreath and its provider. The wreath, which had just been laid, remained at the tomb for hardly more than a minute before being quickly removed and placed into a dump truck.

I would like to share a few details about Arlington National Cemetery. The cemetery contains more than 400,000 graves including the final resting place for President John F. Kennedy, and his wife Jacquelin Kennedy Onassis and one other United States President, William Howard Taft, who died in 1930.

The cemetery occupies some 624 acres and was once the estate of the Family of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s wife Mary Anna (Custis) Lee, a great-granddaughter of Martha Washington. The Union took over the land during the Civil War and the cemetery received its first burial on May 13, 1864.

The cemetery also is the location of the Tomb of the Unknowns. A service person, one from each war, who could not be identified are interred in the tomb. I would suggest that if you are looking for a spot to visit during a vacation, visit Arlington National Cemetery.

Thanks for reading!     ~Carlton