Some of you might be interested to watch a video I made from photos and video clips at the funeral of Winde's uncle at Arlington last month. He was accorded full honors--caisson, riderless horse, about everything but a fly over. He was a veteran of WWII, Korea and Viet Nam. I had never been this close to a 'full honor's' military funeral, walking behind the caisson and all. It was a moving experience. The only time a tear came to my eye though was when walking along inside Arlington, and I looked to my right, and outside the rock wall separating Arlington from the base at Fort Meyer, in the parking lot, was a service man who quite on his own had stopped what he was doing and come to full attention, saluting as the procession passed. Uncommon respect. Uncommon dignity. With so many of the fallen so recently lost around the world in mind, that gesture could not help but bring a tear to my eye. God Bless all the military and the veterans without whose sacrifices, and bravery, we would not be free. http://youtu.be/nuuhuQEQADA
Henry... I'll watch it later. I'm having a good day so far and I know watching this now will make me sad. I wanted to send my condolences for your loss of Winde's uncle. Hugs to both of you.
Actually Phil died last December. It takes that long to get on the list at Arlington. We're not sad. It is a moving experience however. I am so glad you are having a good day. Many more!
I am also sorry for your loss. You know, someone told me several years ago that whenever I crossed paths with a veteran to say "Welcome Home." And I always have since then.
Henry - my father-in-law got the same treatment. He was Korea and Vietnam vet. It was a very moving experience. Very professional from start to finish. He was buried near the edge of the section they were using then. We went back about 3 years later and he was surrounded by a sea of new stones. I think Arlington and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier should be on everybody's must-see lists IMO. Vietnam Memorial is profoundly moving, too.
Here's a shot as we approached the Viet Nam Memorial And one of a certain location listing one of Winde's high school friends, who was initially listed as MIA, but at some time in the past, confirmed dead. I did not realize this, but MIA's have a dot after their names. Confirmed dead have a diamond. And when an MIA's remains are found, they etch out the dot into a diamond. Winde's friend had one of those indicating that his remains were found and identified at some point. Here's Winde's dad, a Korean vet, at the Korean War Memorial. And my attempt at photo statements, a shot showing my reflection in among the etched ghosts of the war, presumably the likenesses of certain Korean casualties, taken from pictures of the actual subjects. Very well done, the likenesses, not my photo.
Here's one of the statue likenesses in the Korean Memorial. For those who haven't seen it, this represents GI's on a patrol in the mountains of Korea. Winde's dad went on several such patrols. Here's a shot of the WWII Memorial. Over to the right in the distance are people crowded around a group of WWII vets visiting the memorial that day. Here is a shot of the group of fine individuals. The crowd gave them a very nice hand of appreciation which brought many smiles among them.
And of course, a shot of one of my personal heroes, Abe It was a beautiful day on the mall. Here is a shot of the Lincoln Memorial that day And just to give you some perspective that I brought home that day, Winde's dad was traveling with a lady friend, who is a real movie buff, possibly over the edge in that respect, and I will tell you why. Standing where I took this photo, and with all of the meaning that she could have referenced in her comment to me, the one she chose was to say that this is where Clint Eastwood shot some guy at the end of some movie she saw. I answered her, "Yes, and this is also where Martin Luther King, gave the 'I Have A Dream' speech. She said, "Was that here?" I looked around for the cameras thinking that surely this was a set up. Over time, the meaning initially attached and dedicated to our national and patriotic institutions naturally erodes. I guess that is just going to happen. But it is a shame. This lady is 67 years old. She should have known better.
