Funerals at Arlington
As a Senate staffer from 2002 to 2006, I had the honor of attending funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. It was emotionally difficult to see such sadness, but I felt privileged to have the opportunity to pay my own respects, to huddle near the grave with friends and families of an American hero, to hear heart-felt words of love, and to offer my own condolences and expressions of inadequate gratitude to families devastated by loss.
I came away from each experience at Arlington with one thought: every American should see this. Every American should have the opportunity to pay their respects. Every American should be able to watch a young widow’s shoulders heave with grief as “Taps” is played. It drives home in a way words never can the real cost of war.
Dana Milbank’s column in today’s Washington Post details the case of a public affairs director at Arlington who lost her job because she tried to give Americans a closer glimpse at these same ceremonies.
Arlington National Cemetery is hallowed ground, and every American has a duty–not just a right–to know what goes on there.
