Vietnam Memorial

The memorial situated between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument has two walls filled with names that points in both directions. It memorializes those who died in the only war the U. S. ever lost. The war itself was a military, political and social disaster, however the men and women who lost their lives needed to be remembered. Because the war itself caused such turmoil among our citizens and among family members, the monument itself was to be a symbol of healing. The wall itself caused tremendous controversy because it did not capture the preconcieved image that many veterans had regarding how soldiers should be remembered. The World War II memorial is probably more in line with the traditional idea of a memorial to the fallen soldier. Most people do not quibble with the images of eagles and laurel wreaths along with bronze and granite mixed with neoclassical architecture. The simplicity and starkness of the wall along with the use of black granite was shocking to many.
As a person who lived through the time period I see the wall with all those names of mainly young men who really never had an opportunity to experience so many of life's joys as a wall of witness. It is a painful reminder of a government gone wrong and young who may have been.

Arlington Experience

PHOTO: Google Images

Net-Info: Flowers and Wreath-Placing at ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY –- The gift of flowers at a memorial site is a ritual that occurs around the world, understood in every culture. The floral tributes at funerals bespeak both the beauty and the brevity of life and evoke memories of other days. These sorts of offerings are made each day at Arlington National Cemetery, at the dozens of funerals occurring there and in solitary communion with a departed loved one.

More formal ceremonies involve the laying of a wreath and the attendance of others at this ritual. These, too, are held with frequency at Arlington. You may have the opportunity to observe such a ceremony during your visit to Arlington. You even might be taking part in one.

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Note: Flowers and Wreaths are accepted at any grave site in the cemetery, except at the Columbarium, the above ground site containing ashes of deceased persons. (KM)

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Below:

John F. Kennedy is Laid

to Rest at Arlington National Cemetery*

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Long JFK Funeral Procession Approaching Arlington

Caisson of JFK Enters Arlington for Internment

Raising the Flag From the Casket During TAPS
(Notice Military Personnel at Salute While Bugler Plays Out of View).

JFK's Eternal Flame at Arlington National Cemetery
(Photo by Kevin Martin; 2009)

Arlington National Cemetery is the Final Resting Place of America's 35th President, John F. Kennedy, - Interred Beneath the Eternal Flame

I find that, having visited Arlington National Cemetery this past week, the responsibility of each citizen to advocate for a more peaceful world environment is more morally imperative than ever. No one of us fragile human beings maintains a monopoly on virtue, and to see the graves of so many thousands of war dead starting with the seemingly countless number of Civil War casualties and continuing up to the present moment with those brave, selfless men and women who have fallen in either Afghanistan or Iraq, - and to bear witness to all this firsthand - naturally imposes a necessity of reflection of any person who may care about making his or her little area on this earth ever slightly better than before. It is a very demanding but positive challenge that awaits any individual. This visit with my colleagues to Arlington National Cemetery reminded me of this.

The grave site of the assassinated President, John F. Kennedy (above), also includes his late widow, Jacqueline, and their two infant children. The grave is situated in a place on a sloping hillside, over-viewed by the Custis-Lee Mansion (known today as "Arlington House"). Although JFK was this nation's military commander-in-chief, he was also a decorated naval PT-boat commander in World War II. Just 11 days before his own death, the president visited Arlington as part of a Veterans Day tribute. It is reported that he commented to an Arlington official that he found the place to be so strangely beautiful and appealing that he "could live here forever"; the solemnity and serene, simple beauty of the site deprives it of any morbidity.

In 1967, the permanent gravesite was completed, with the eternal flame surrounded by Cape Cod field stones and selections from President Kennedy's Inaugural Address etched on marble panels that face the nation's capital. The new eternal flame device was fed by an underground natural gas line designed and created by the Institute of Gas Technology of Chicago.

The Eternal Flame was Jackie Kennedy's idea, - having had seen one exactly like it at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Arc d' Triomphe in Paris during a 1961 state visit with the late president. Over time, the eternal flame has become a universal symbol that honors the loss of persons of great significance, in addition to major tragic and momentous events. (KM)

* Above Black & White Images of the Kennedy Funeral: Google Images

Arlington National Cemetery

After having visited Arlington I too came away with a lot of mixed feelings as well as interesting reflections. I last visited Arlington when I was a child and the First Gulf War had been finished. I remember that seeing the changing of the guard was extremely profound. I felt that the Cemetery was a monument to the American dead.

However, after having processed what we learned today as well as having watched the movie Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery on HBO (click here for the synopsis), my views have changed. Arlington is a place of extreme dichotomy: we have heroism
But we also have segregated sections of the cemetery where blacks, American citizens and former slaves who served before them, were placed apart for their white counterparts. And furthermore, Confederate soldiers have a separate and preserved section for themselves, separate from black soldiers and Union soldiers. While certainly many of these men simply fought to protect their homes, some certainly understood treason and believed they were fighting to preserve a horrible institution. How can such a place, a place that is supposed to be about heroic men, have such a dirty past?

After having watched Section 60 which details the stories of men and women who have fought and died in Iraq and Afghanistan and are buried in the new Section 60 of the cemetery and chronicles the lives of their still living loved ones, I also changed my view of the Cemetery. I am personally against the war for too many reasons to bore you with. So, what's the point? The point is, while undoubtedly these men and women who are in Section 60 are heroes who should be honored as such, to me Arlington is now, more than ever, a reflection of the stupidity of the American government in the early 21st century as well a permanent reminder for all future generations to take a more active role in government, while also to be mindful of the fact that the actions of the present can possibly tarnish America for decades to come.

Section 60 is the living part of Arlington; it is constantly being filled with the newly deceased and therefore Arlington is never a complete monument. It will constantly change, as it's meaning has changed over the past decade for myself and probably for many other Americans.

Also, the fact that while most of Arlington has the lovely, plain, and egalitarian headstones,


I was troubled by the quite ostentatious headstones of some of our past Judicial and Military leaders.


Certainly these men are important, served their country in various capacities, but are their contributions more important to the country than a Private who dies for his country? I don't know, really, but I feel like the Cemetery is supposed to be about perceived equality, and that can never be achieved with these much more grandiose headstones. Even JFK, and to an even greater extent RFK's headstones seem more appropriate than those above.

Now on a different side, I was able to tape most of the Changing of the Guards ceremony and here is a link to the YouTube video. It's a little shaky!

How much time for memory and myth?

After last night's visit to the Vietnam Memorial, a question keeps me wondering. When is the time appropriate to honor historic events? I ask this after seeing the two additional sets of statues of the three soldiers and the women's section. Why couldn't the nurse( the women's statues) hold a Vietnamese child in her arms, instead of a soldier's helmet? Why did the three soldiers look like something from Apocalypse Now? Memory and myth-so what are we saying about this unpopular and lost war by these three structures? How do we honor those that have given the ultimater sacrifice? Do we always need the actual figures? Sharon

Symbolic Connections in the Library of Congress

Symbolic connections abound among the statues looking down on the main reading room of the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. Each pillar in the room is labeled with an art: history, science, religion, etc. Two representative portrait statues then flank each pillar -- for example Homer and Shakespeare stand on each side of the pillar of poetry.

I loved this subtle connection: because the statues flank their pillar, each statue stands beside the representative of a different art. I noticed, for example, Sir Isaac Newton (science) standing beside Moses (religion). I cannot say there is purposeful meaning in any specific pairing, but I cannot help but knit them together and ponder the novel combinations. What message might Beethoven and Herodotus create together?

The Capitol

Originally the Capitol was supposed to be built by L'Enfant but he wouldn't give President Washington any sketches so he had to get rid of him. He was also difficult with the city planners The man who eventually designed it had no formal architectural training (Dr. William Thornton). He did have some help from the runner up Stephen Hallet because he really had no knowledge of how to execute the plan.

During the War of 1812 the Capitol was burned but wasn't completely destroyed. In 1827 the two wings were joined by a dome. In the 1850s with new states joining the Union they had to expand the wings even more. Right before the Civil War they began to replace the old dome but had to stop once the war began. Soldiers at this time even set up camp in the Capitol to protect DC. After assassinated, Lincoln was the first President to lie in state (about 30 people had the honor since him).

The visitor center we waited in is fairly new-- completed only last year. Before the center, people had to wait outside to tour the capitol.

Washington Study Day One

Thank you all for your fortitude and your intrepid approach to learning about the history of Washington D.C. We are off to a great start with Jake's wonderful lecture, "Founding a Federal City, Finding a Federal Politics" and our viewing and discussion of the amazing and moving Lincoln Memorial. What I think might not have been mentioned last night, was Lincoln's own comittment to erecting the Washington Memorial. As a young congressman, he was in Washington when the cornerstone was laid in the late 1840s. From our conversation I learned that the meaning of the Civil War is still contested, which I suppose should not be surprising. Nevertheless, Daniel Chester French's brilliant memorial statue does seem especially well tuned to accomodate the complexity of Lincoln himself and the greatness of his mind and spirit. The golden tones of the temple setting against which the brilliant white statue is set brings to mind notions of purity and hope.