August 15, 2010
Good Morning.
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Today we will talk about two National symbols. One is the National Military Cemetery and the other is the Purple Heart. Veterans are also a part of any discussion of these two subjects.
Yesterday, August 14, 2010 was the sixty-fifth anniversary of J-J Day, Victory over Japan. Alfred Eisenstaedt, a photojournalist took a picture in Times Square, New York City of a sailor kissing a nurse. Everyone has seen this famous photo. The two participants did not know each other and never did. Lt. Victor Jorgensen took a photo of the same kiss but, his was never famous for it. Thank you to all veterans and to the greatest generation that fought World War II.
Veterans have a place to be buried that they all have earned. Arlington National Cemetery is in Arlington County, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington D. C. and the Lincoln Memorial. It is near the Pentagon. The Military Cemetery was built and opened during the Civil War. It is located on the grounds of Arlington House, which was the family estate of the wife of General Robert E. Lee, the Confederate General that led the South in the War of Northern Aggression. Lee’s wife, Mary Anna Custis Lee was a great grand-daughter of Martha Washington, our first President’s wife. Robert E. Lee lived on the property but he never owned it
George Washington is often called the father of our country but, in reality, he was sterile. He and Martha had no children themselves, although Martha had children from an earlier marriage. She was the Wealthiest widow in the colonies when George married her.
It is believed Abraham Lincoln chose Arlington House as the site for the cemetery to upset General Lee. It likely did do that. He had no home to come back to after the Civil War. The government actually acquired the property in a tax sale in 1864. It paid $26,800.00. The taxes owed on the property were $92.07 that Mrs. Lee tried to pay before the sale, in time to stop the sale but, the government refused to accept the money. Court cases involving ownership of Arlington House lasted for nearly twenty years. The U. S. Supreme Court actually sided with the Custis family and said the property was seized without due process. It ordered the estate returned to the Custis family in 1882. The next year, the parties settled and the government paid the family $150,000.00 for the cemetery site. A ceremony was held for the document signing that was attended by the Secretary of War, Robert Todd Lincoln, Abe’s son.
Two Presidents, William Howard Taft and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, are buried at the 624 acres cemetery as is Abner Doubleday, a Civil War general who later invented baseball, or is credited with so doing. Audie Murphy, considered to be the most decorated soldier from World War II and a Hollywood actor is buried at Arlington.
The cemetery is divided into 70 sections; each section has a designated use. Section 60 is the burial ground for soldiers killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Section 21is the Nurses Memorial, where many military nurses are buried. There is a section for soldiers from the Confederate States of America which also has a Confederate Memorial in the section. Section 27contains the graves of over 3,800 former slaves. They were called “Contrabands” during the Civil War.
Headstones on the graves are quite similar in appearance. The upright marble headstones are allowed to have faith emblems on them, if approved by the Unites States Department of Veterans Affairs. Currently 39 faith emblems are approved for placement on government Headstones or Markers. The pentacle is not an approved “emblem of belief”
Hundreds of funerals take place at Arlington National Cemetery every day. Someday, however, the site will be full.
The history of this hallowed ground is very interesting. More can be found at www.arlingtoncemetery.org or at Wikipedia, a fine source to start any research project.
The Bears looked as bad as I expected last night. Am I the only one who knows Forte is not NFL quality?
Revisiting a blog from a few days ago, apparently our State’s Attorney, John Farrell, does not want the bleeding at the Library Board to stop. He is preparing a civil lawsuit against the Board or its members. Stay tuned.
I mentioned the Purple Heart above but I have run out of time and space. I will save that blog for another day. Sorry.
Thank you and have a sunny day.
Bruce A. Brennan
brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
brucebrennanlaw.com
BLOG: bruceabrennananddekalbilandtheworld.blogspot.com
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