Arlington National Cemetery

It's been years since I was At Arlington National Cemetery, so I decided to take advantage during my trip to the Pentagon to go visit some departed brothers-in-arms.

Maps of the three areas to visit.

Section 34, near the World War I Memorial Tree.

Sections 60 and 64.

This ENTIRE area is reserved for "unknown" Soldiers. It's closest to the Fort Myers Chapel, though I'm not sure if that's by design or merely by chance.

As I started my walk, I passed the back of this grave . . .

. . . and saw this first. Betty Jane is my mother's name. It sort of set the tone for the rest of the visit.

THEN I saw this grave and noted that this poor man and his children all died on the same day, aged 9, 13 and 15.

It warranted some research. The West Virginia Vital Research Register verifies that they all died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

First stop, The Memorial Amphitheater.

The Amphitheater was the dream of Judge Ivory G. Kimball, who wished to have a place to assemble and honor the American defenders.

Because of Kimball's campaign, Congress authorized its construction March 4, 1913. Judge Kimball participated in the ground-breaking ceremony March 1, 1915, but did not live to see his dream completed. Ivory Kimball died May 15, 1916, and was buried in Section 3 of the cemetery, near the Memorial Amphitheater he campaigned to build. President Woodrow Wilson placed the cornerstone Oct. 13, 1915 and the completed structure was dedicated on May 15, 1920.

Of course I was HORRIFIED to see people filing past the barriers for a photo op while seated in the "Speaker's Chair."

A raised stage occupies the east side of the amphitheater. The names of 14 U.S. Army generals and 14 U.S. Navy admirals important in American history prior to World War I are inscribed on each side of the amphitheater stage. A quote from General George Washington's June 26, 1775, letter to the Continental Congress is inscribed inside the apse: "When we assumed the soldier we did not lay aside the citizen." A quote from President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is inscribed above the stage: "We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain."

Halfway between the stage and the floor of the amphitheater is a narrow dais on which stands a carved marble throne. This platform was intended to be the seat for speakers, while guests sat on the upper stage. It has almost never been used as such.

A small chapel is located beneath the amphitheater stage. There is a small below-ground kitchen and a small service room at the sides of the stairs leading to the chapel.

One copy of each of the following items is sealed inside the box placed in the cornerstone that day:

The Bible

The Declaration of Independence

The U.S. Constitution

U.S. Flag (1915)

Designs and plans for the amphitheater

L'Enfant's map design of the city of Washington, D.C.

Autograph of the amphitheater commission

One of each U.S. coin in use in 1915

One of each U.S. postage stamp in use in 1915

1914 map of Washington, D.C.

The Congressional Directory

Boyd's City Directory for the District of Columbia

Autographed photo of President Woodrow Wilson

The cornerstone dedication program

The Evening Star newspaper account of the ceremonies, and the campaign to build the Amphitheater

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier stands atop a hill overlooking Washington, D.C. in the plaza of the Memorial Amphitheater. On March 4, 1921, Congress approved the burial of an unidentified American soldier from World War I

The white marble sarcophagus has a flat-faced form and is relieved at the corners and along the sides by neo-classic pilasters, or columns, set into the surface. Sculpted into the east panel which faces Washington, D.C., are three Greek figures representing Peace, Victory, and Valor. The six wreaths, three sculpted on each side, represent the six major campaigns of World War I. Inscribed on the back of the Tomb are the words:

"Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God"

The Tomb sarcophagus was placed above the grave of the Unknown Soldier of World War I. West of the World War I Unknown are the crypts of unknowns from World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Those three graves are marked with white marble slabs flush with the plaza.

One of the most solemn ceremonies of any kind in the world.

Incidentally, The remains of the Vietnam Unknown were exhumed May 14, 1998. Based on mitochondrial DNA testing, DoD scientists identified the remains as those of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, who was shot down near An Loc, Vietnam, in 1972. It has been decided that the crypt that contained the remains of the Vietnam Unknown will remain vacant. The crypt cover has been replaced with one that has the inscription “Honoring and Keeping Faith with America’s Missing Servicemen, 1958-1975.”

GEN Robert William Cone

Birth Date: 03/19/1957

Death Date: 09/19/2016

Interment Date: 12/09/2016 16:00

Branch of Service: US ARMY

Section: 34

Grave: 135

I served with GEN Cone when he was a Major and I was a First Lieutenant. We were stationed together in Fulda, Germany in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. He was born in New Hampshire, so I always felt a kinship to him. We all knew that he would be fast-tracked to whatever position he wanted. He finished his Army career as the Training and Doctrine Commander (TRADOC). Sadly, he was diagnosed with stage four metastatic prostate cancer in 2011, four months following his promotion to four star general and underwent clinical trial therapy. He was a great mentor and I will miss his words of wisdom.

As I departed GEN Cone's burial site, a funeral service was finishing elsewhere in the cemetery and I had the HONOR of coming to attention and rendering a salute as Taps was played. I was in uniform and couldn't have planned a better coincidence.

A view of Washington Monument from the National Cemetery.

Ironically, the land on which the cemetery stands was once owned by George Washington's descendants and only became government property after great suffering.

George Washington Parke Custis, grandson of Martha Washington, acquired the land in 1802, and began construction of Arlington House (the name is ultimately derived from the village of Arlington, Gloucestershire, England, where Custis' family originated). The estate passed to Custis' daughter, Mary Anna, who had married United States Army officer Robert E. Lee. Custis' will gave a "life inheritance" to Mary Lee, allowing her to live at and run Arlington Estate for the rest of her life but not enabling her to sell any portion of it. Upon her death, the Arlington estate passed to her eldest son, George Washington Custis Lee.

The government acquired Arlington at a tax sale in 1864 for $26,800, equal to $410,000 today. Mrs. Lee had not appeared in person but rather had sent an agent, attempting to pay the $92.07 in property taxes (equal to $1,400 today) assessed on the estate in a timely manner. The government turned away her agent, refusing to accept the tendered payment. In 1874, Custis Lee, heir under his grandfather's will passing the estate in trust to his mother, sued the United States claiming ownership of Arlington. On December 9, 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 in Lee's favor in United States v. Lee, deciding that Arlington had been confiscated without due process. After that decision, Congress returned the estate to him, and on March 3, 1883, Custis Lee sold it back to the government for $150,000 (equal to $3,271,364 in 2017) at a signing ceremony with Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln. The land then became a military reservation.

The United States Department of the Army controls the cemetery.

United States Air Force Memorial as seen from Arlington.

They served with honor

The Persian Gulf

1990-1991

To the brave hearts

Who gave their lives

May we all know the peace

For which they died.

And, fittingly, on to BG Hildner's grave.

BG Terence John Hildner

Birth Date: 02/20/1962

Death Date: 02/03/2012

Interment Date: 02/29/2012 08:45

Branch of Service: US ARMY

Section: 60

Grave: 9999

Brigadier General Hildner was my very first active duty commander. I was assigned to Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Bindlach, Germany in June of 1990, directly out of the Armor Officer Basic Course and the Scout Platoon Leader Course. Then Captain Hildner was the quintessential commander. He was unforgiving when it came to doing things right and taught me things that I will remember forever about taking care of Soldiers, honoring family and friends, and selfless service to this great Nation of ours. We eventually deployed to Southwest Asia, where we served together in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, as well as Operation Provide Comfort.

On August 19, 2010, he assumed command of the 13th Sustainment Command, and subsequently deployed to Afghanistan from his headquarters at Fort Hood in Texas. He died on February 3, 2012 (days before his 50th birthday), in Kabul, Afghanistan, of apparent natural causes, and is the second highest-ranking American to die in the Afghan war. He is buried directly next to his father, United States Air Force COL (Ret.) Robert E. Hildner, who, sadly, died four months after Terry.

Literally, across the street . . .

MSgt Evander E. Andrews

Birth Date: 01/05/1965

Death Date: 10/10/2001

Interment Date: 10/22/2001

Branch of Service: US AIR FORCE

Section: 64

Grave: 6226

Evander and I attended Carrabec High School together and rallied each other in track. Truly a "small town boy" from Solon, Maine, he was one of the kindest people I've ever met. He will be forever known as the first American casualty of the war on terrorism. Evander was killed October 10, 2001, at the age of 36, in a forklift accident while helping in the construction of an airstrip in the Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar. At the time, he was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom with the 366th Civil Engineer Squadron from Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho.