Arlington Cemetery is a pretty amazing place to visit. I tried not to take too many pictures, but some things were just too pretty to not. We took a tour bus around, which stops at three of the most "popular" things:
- The Eternal Flame, where John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and two of their babies that died are buried. Also next to the Eternal Flame are the graves of Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy (Teddy).
- The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where we saw the changing of the guard
- Lee House, which was the house of Robert E. Lee, but during the Civil War the U.S. Government took over the land to use as a cemetery for Union Soldiers. They chose the location not only for it's proximity to Washington DC, but also for it's elevation. They also were strategic in building around the house of the Confederate General, making it difficult and unlikely that he would move back home.
Normally, the Lee House would be open for viewing, but we had the unfortunate luck of having it be closed on the day we went. I will have to go back and see it on a day that it will be open! It was cold and windy while we were there.
At the Eternal Flame. I like this picture, I think it's so beautiful how you can see the uniform headstones rolling in the background.
The cross at the bottom left is the grave for Robert F. Kennedy. The building in the background is a part of Lee House. I don't know if the flag always flies at half mast, or if it was lowered for someone in particular.
In less frigid temperatures, this is a reflecting pool. I love this quote from RFK.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
After the tour, we drove over to the Iwo Jima Memorial. That one is special to me because of my Grampa. He was in the Marines in WWII and was wounded at Bougainville. I would have liked to have gone there with him, or been there when he had seen the Memorial, but he's probably not going to be traveling down to DC any time soon.
