Sunday, March 15, 2009

Arlington National Cemetery


From the front gate to JFK's grave, the cemetery is packed with school groups, tourists, and foriegners taking pictures. But on the beautiful hillside over-looking the whole city, very few of these people walked the short distance west of JFK to pay respects to the justices of the Supreme Court. There are no eternal flames there, but we live with the decisions they made every day. People don't gather around their graves because they didn't make speeches at the Cow Palace. People probably don't gather their because they didn't spend months fundraising in order to run for public office. People don't gather their because so many can't even name the justices on the current court. Potter Stewart's gravestone simply says: "A good lawyer who did his best"

At the back of the cemetery, where most tourists don't make it, rests the nurses. It's very quiet back here. Just a short walk south-west of here are some fallen troops of the Confederacy. But as you leave the nurses and head towards the gate, the graves become more an more fresh. Some headstones just months old.


The tomb of the unknown soldiers overlooks the city, and is kept in constant compamy. However, these are not the only unknown soldiers on the grounds. Sailors and Marines who lost their lives on the battleship Maine also rest here.

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