Cowbright: Day 2b - DC with Henry

My morning post was getting a bit lengthy with so many photos so I decided to make a separate entry about our afternoon. The weather was unseasonably warm today which was a true blessing. After visiting the Arlington National Cathedral for morning worship, we found a place nearby called Lucky Buns where we had lunch. Afterwards we drove to Arlington Cemetery. We decided to take the trolley tour, as it was the best way to get an overview of the cemetery and also the wind was picking up and the temperature had started to drop.

Here are some things we learned as the rode along on the trolley.

* Largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System

* Owned by the United States Army

* Over 400,000 persons are buried there

* Cemetery covers 639 acres

* Up to 30 funerals a day still take place there

* Presidents William Howard Taft, John F. Kennedy and many other famous people buried there

(more info at https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/#/)

The tour was a "hop on hop off" type with several stops along the way. I was so hoping we could catch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which happens every hour on the hour (every 30 minutes during summer months) 365 days a year. Unfortunately, we just missed it and would have had to wait almost an hour which would have put us on the last trolley of the day, so we decided against getting off there. I have always been so impressed with this. It wouldn't matter if a soldier had icicles hanging off his cap, he would still remain at attention while guarding the tomb.

Here are some interesting facts from the internet regarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

3 unknown American service members are buried in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery:

World War I: The first unknown soldier to be buried in the tomb
World War II: An unknown soldier from the European or Pacific theaters
Korean War: An unknown soldier selected from the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu

The tomb has 4 crypts, with the center crypt empty. A 4th unknown soldier was once buried in the tomb to represent the Vietnam war, but was later identified as Air Force Capt. Michael J. Blassie. His body was exhumed and buried in Missouri.

The tomb is guarded by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, The "Old Guard"

Below are some of the "bus window" shots I took in the sections of the cemetery that we drove through. We obviously didn't make it through the entire cemetery. Our guide spoke as we were driven along, giving historical facts and pointing out sites of well known persons buried there. Driving through and gazing out at the sea of head stones is to me a very sobering experience.