NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of our most spectacular monuments of glory, one of the most significant and sacred memorials of American nation. It is one of the largest and oldest military cemeteries of the USA, where more than 260 thousand veterans of all historical wars (starting from heroes of Independence War and ending with the soldiers, who died in Afghanistan and Iraq) and members of their families are buried. Every year about 5. 5 thousand of new burials are added. The cemetery is located in Arlington County, Virginia, close to the Lincoln Memorial and building of the Pentagon. Its location can be easily spotted when walking across the bridge over the River Potomac from Washington D. C.
Also, visitors can reach the cemetery by metro, taking the Blue Line train. The cemetery covers 612 acres and, apart from military veterans, there are also graves of two American Presidents, Justices of the Supreme Court, governmental secretaries, astronauts, explorers, artists, etc. History of Arlington Cemetery goes back to the beginning of XIX century. The lands of contemporary cemetery were the property of George Washington Parke Custis, who intended to build there Memorial of George Washington, so called Arlington House. Later on Customs daughter Mary and her husband Robert E. Lee inherited the estate and the construction of Arlington House, where they have been living for 30 years.
But when the threat of War became obvious, the Lees left the house and moved to another territory. Therefore, in 1863 these lands and the House were seized by American government with the prospect to be used as a cemetery due to their advantageous strategic location. In May, 1863, Secretary of War of the USA Edwin M. Stanton officially opened the cemetery as National military graveyard. Members of American Congress made a decision not to tax these lands, and since those times the government takes the expenses for burial of the soldiers and officers, who died during military conflicts and can not be buried in his native locality. Annually more than 4 million people, children and adults, come to Arlington Cemetery to venerate the memory of national heroes laying to rest there.
Seeing thousands and thousands of grave sites and headstones is extremely impressive. Everybody, who visits this memorial, gets deeply impacted by understanding how high the costs of wars are, and how painful it must be to lose a young family member at overseas war. Death, as it is presented in Arlington Cemetery, is full of dignity and honor, but it is still very tragic and very heartbreaking. Having entered the cemetery through the Memorial Gates (now there is The Women in Military Service for America Memorial), visitors find themselves among long linear rows of identical white headstones, located under gorgeous and silent tall trees.
Solemn and grave atmosphere makes everybody become soundless, speechless, and even children go quiet next to those gravestones of military officers, generals and commanders, marked with the stars. Close to the entrance there are graves of General Commander of 12 th Army Group in World War II Omar N. Bradley and American President William Howard Taft, who was also Secretary of War and Chief Justice of the USA. Upper on the hill there is one of the most visited places of Arlington Cemetery: the grave of assassinated American President John F. Kennedy, which is marked by Eternal Flames and black marble gravestone, created by designer I. M.
Pei. President Kennedys wife Jacqueline and his brother Robert are also buried nearby; their grave sites are decorated with monumental inscriptions: words from their speeches and addresses, perpetuated in marble. Another popular place to visit is so called Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, located high on the hill and accompanied with a beautiful white construction of the Memorial Amphitheater. The Tomb is made of a massive piece of Yule marble, on which it is written: "Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God. " This grave site contains the remains of unknown soldiers killed in both World Wars, and also during the wars in Vietnam and Korea (in 1998 American scientists managed to identify the remains of the soldier from Vietnam War, so one crypt of the Tomb is recently empty). Night and day, day and night the Tomb is guarded by sentinels from the U. S.
Military Forces; this tradition is being kept up for more than 50 years. There are numerous other important memorials in Arlington Cemetery. Right next to the Memorial Amphitheater there is one of the oldest and most unusual burials: more than one thousand freed slaves were buried at the expense of the government right after the Revolutionary War. In the other section visitors can find more than 4 thousand graves of usual American citizens and former slaves, buried during the Civil War, their grave stones are marked with signs Citizen or Civilian. Not far away from the present Arlington House there are some historical graves, crowned with marble monuments.
Two memorials are dedicated to two most terrible catastrophes of American Space Shuttles, Challenger and Columbia. Faces of seven members of Challenger crew team, who died in shuttle crash, are imprinted into big dark grave stone, which is also decorated with the lines of John Magees poem High Flight. Other memorials can remind visitors many historical events resulted in human losses, like attempt of military team to rescue hostages in Iran in 1980, or sinking of Maine ship, which initiated American-Spanish War, etc. But, of course, the most recent burials are the most heartbreaking and touching.
Every visitor stops in sorrow next to the Pentagon memorial in Section 64, where 60 victims of Pentagon bombing attack of the Sept. 11 are buried. Iron plate of the gravestone has the list of all 184 Pentagon officials, destroyed by terrorists in that tragic day. But, probably, the most moving section of the whole cemetery is that one, where dozens of young soldiers killed in the most controversial war of our times, American war in Iraq, received their last tributes and now rest in peace. Every week-day about 20 - 25 new funerals, interments or increments can be seen in Arlington Cemetery.
It is a great and exclusive honor to be buried in this cemetery, thats why only exceptional people, mostly military staff, like service members, veterans or military retirees, marked or awarded military men and women, and also members of their families, etc. can be rendered to the mould there. As it is very hard to receive a place for in-ground burial, the eligible people may opt to be cremated and saved in a columbarium of Arlington. Every funeral of a military in Arlington Cemetery is accompanied with a number of special ceremonies and customs, which are quite interesting to be observed.
First of all, caskets of dead military heroes are covered with American national flag, placed in such a way that its blue field is placed over the left shoulder of a deceased. The flag must not touch the ground and must be removed before burying the casket. There is one more traditional ritual, connected with flags, named flag-in: every year at Memorial Day little American flags are placed at every grave of the cemetery. Another custom is firing cannon salutes, which was initiated by British Navy. The number of guns varies depending on the rank of the dead: one-star military is honored with 11 guns salute, two-star military is honored with 13 guns salute, and so on.
The President of the United States must be honored with 21 guns salute. This tradition is one of the oldest; it symbolizes respect and principle of equality of nations. Also it is customary to fire three rifle volleys over the grave: as a rule, seven firemen are involved in this ritual. Military funeral are frequently accompanied with so called Taps, an American call, written by Daniel Butterfield, the Union Army General. It started being used at military funerals during war times as an alternative for gun salutes in order not to attract attention of the enemies. Taps must involve a drummer to express ruffles and a bugler to play flourishes.
The highest honor for a dead military individual is to receive four drummers for expressing gun shots in Taps in the funeral. Actually, there are two types of traditional funeral procedures, which can be arranged for military funerals at Arlington Cemetery. Standard honor funeral involve a casket team, a firing team and a bugler. Full honor funerals may additionally involve a military orchestra and an escort. Very frequently a military chaplain is requested for carrying out some funeral procedures. All the arrangements and preparations for military honors are made by the administration of the cemetery by the request of a kin of the deceased.
Flags for covering the caskets are usually granted by the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs for free. Memory of all the American soldiers, killed at wars, is venerated with special ceremonies next to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. At any time and at any weather it is guarded by the sentinels, the volunteers from the elite 3 rd U. S.
Infantry. Future sentinels are thoroughly selected from the soldiers, interviewed and properly trained. There are special scheduled procedures of rotation and changing steps of the sentinels. It is very respectable and prestigious to become a Guard of Honor for a military officer.
Finally, one of the most solemn and impressive rituals, which can be observed at the cemetery, is wreath laying. Bringing flowers to honor the memory of the deceased is known in many cultures. Flowers symbolize beauty and life; also they can evoke memories about beautiful events from the past, connected with the passed away beloved one. The ceremony of wreaths laying is especially august and spectacular in Memorial Day or Veterans Day, when many important politicians and social activists, including President of the USA, visit Arlington Cemetery to participate it.
In such special occasions this ritual is carried out by military ceremonial units. When walking along the endless rows of identical gravestones in Arlington National Cemetery, visitors bow their heads in sorrow and respect to numerous heroes of our country. Arlington Cemetery is not a usual place for burials, thats why perception of death there can be different. Everybody, who visits the cemetery, can notice specific dualism in imagining death.
On the one hand, death can be seen as a tragedy of loss of a beloved person. But on the other hand, at Arlington Cemetery, unlike any other historical place, death is presented as something full of honor, respect and glory, as something heroic and valiant, which actually leads to immortality. Maybe that is why so many children come to visit Arlington Cemetery together with their parents. Here they can meet our history alive, as it exists now.
They can see an impressive picture of sacrifice, made by all of us in general and every one of us in particular in order to become powerful, adamant nation. Besides, visiting Arlington Cemetery can become an introduction to understanding of some principal human values and to realizing some obligations and commitments, which are not always easy to be comprehended by reading historical books or watching war movies. This cemetery has an important meaning for social and humanistic relations in our society. Arlington Memorial is one of the most noble and significant symbols of American nation, its power, its undertakings and its accomplishments. It is our most sacred national shrine. It is a developing powerful reminder about our past and present, about outstanding heroism of our fathers and grandfather during the times of war, about bitter price of our peace, safety and security.
Undoubtedly, Arlington National Cemetery is the most known and respectful American memorial. Numerous foreign tourists, businessmen, or politicians always try to visit this sacred place and to leave flowers or wreaths next to the gravestones. This cemetery is a monument to Honor and Pride of American National Army Forces and an important testimonial of our history, because it keeps the remains of principal military heroes of the USA, starting from Pierre L'Enfant, a major of the Revolutionary Army, and ending with hundreds of young soldiers, snatched away by premature death during American military operation in Iraq.
Free research essays on topics related to: american president, secretary of war, young soldiers, george washington, american nation
Research essay sample on Secretary Of War Young Soldiers
