Last Week in Arlington

Though it was an unseasonably beautiful day last Wednesday, I was met with a solemn feeling walking through the gates of Arlington National Cemetery. I had been there once before, as a young child and as I walked in for a second time, I realized how little I appreciated the site years before. The sea of ornately placed gravestones were a sobering site, as was the view of workers digging fresh graves for the next days burials. Up the hill near the monument to the U.S.S. Maine, the wind was whipping through the trees and I watched from afar as one man in a suit stood at a grave with a newly wrapped American flag in his hands. The sight was very poignant and moving. To me, this stuck out much more than the changing of the guard or JFK's grave. It was a true display of the harsh reality of service and sacrifice for country.