Memorial Day at Arlington Cemetery

Tom had to work Monday for the ceremonies at Arlington Cemetery.  The president always lays a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns and then there's a short program in the amphitheater which is directly behind the tomb area.

Taylor's friend Mariah is here visiting from Utah and I thought they might want to go but they decided to do their own thing so I went by myself.

 As you came in the gates you were given two roses, one to put on a grave and another to keep.

I decided to walk up to the tomb rather than wait for the shuttle which had a huge line waiting.  Whenever the president appears anyplace, security is crazy tight and because of this the short way to the tomb was closed off and so it was quite a little trek to get there. It is really a gorgeous and special place though and well worth the walk.  This display was at the entrance of the tomb.

So my plan was to watch the changing of the guards at the tomb then just wait there for the wreath ceremony then just listen to the program from outside the amphitheatre because I knew I couldn't do both.  There were zillions of people pushed up against the tomb area however, and I've discovered that some people just aren't on their best behavior at these things so I backed out and watched this little girl sing and dance to this tree!

 Then I worked my way over to see if I could get in the amphitheatre (which I did) however it was so stinkin' crowded I thought my claustrophobia was going to get the best of me.  I had visions of flipping out and security taking me down in front of thousands of people.  I went back towards the tomb and suddenly they started making everyone clear a path on the sidewalk.  So I assumed they were bringing the president through.  I thought, if nothing else I'm going to get a great picture since I'm standing right here!  Then Tom sent me a text to find out where I was and came and plucked me out of the crowd and walked me in through the special entrance and right down front of the theatre to sit on 4 big open seating areas.  Yeah, people who have been sitting in the hot sun for a couple of hours aren't crazy about the person who gets whisked past them to the front rows.  That didn't make me turn it down however.

 This young soldier performed a gorgeous national anthem and later got a standing ovation for America the Beautiful.  He came and sat down right in front of me afterwards.  I put my hand on his back and told him what a gorgeous job he did.  He gave me a big smile and thumbs up!  Yeah, it had to be pretty cool to knock it out of the park in the front of the president and on national tv.

Michele Obama

The president and Chuck Hagel with other distinguished guests

Tom looking very secret service like

So this is the press corps who I was sitting with.  They didn't come in until right before the president and they came in from that door Tom is standing next to.  They all sit, then get to go up one at a time and take 2 photos while the president is speaking.  It must be annoying to have your every move documented.

Taps at the end of the service

Retiring of the colors

 At the end of the program Tom had to stay with the press corps so he helped me out a back exit and then took off.  We have a friend who is buried at Arlington so I decided to try and find her grave.  A marine had downloaded an ap on my phone that was supposed to help but I was struggling with it.  PLUS, I had lost my glasses and for those of you who struggle with poor eyesight, that was very frustrating.

There was a large coalition of people in these red TAPS shirts.  Families of fallen soldiers who were in DC attending a seminar and grief camp for the children.

This woman was out putting roses on graves and as she placed each one she said out loud...."Thank you".

 I found the same Marine again and he tried putting in the name but for some reason it wasn't working.  I had to walk all the way back to the visitor's center where they looked it up and gave me a map to find her.  Of course, it was all the way back up to where I had been and further........but I finally found it!
Deb was an awesome lady that Tom had worked with on some projects at HAFB but I knew her from church.  We also served together on the Davis County Arts Council Board. She and her husband were a little older but adopted this darling african-american baby they named Anthony.  He was in my Sunday School class for a couple of years from the time he was two. Smart as a whip and cute as a bug.  Anyway, Deb got cancer and it grew pretty quickly.  Such a loss.  Anyway, left her some roses and got a photo to send to Dave and Anthony.

 I thought I would catch the shuttle on the way down since there were still people waiting in line and to save myself another mile and a half walk.  I waited about 20 minutes and just kept watching this little boy who moved from stone to stone and just stood and looked at them. But he spent like 5 minutes at each one.

 Finally I decided I could walk faster than waiting for that shuttle so down I headed again!

Tomb of the Unknowns

 I got home and Tom had already been there for over an hour napping, but we decided to head downtown and see what was going on.  The parade was just wrapping up but we still got to see some fun things.

 We got separated and Tom ended up in the tent where the dignitaries had been sitting (yeah, go figure) and came out with an official program and a white chocolate covered graham cracker with the parade insignia on it!

 We made a big loop around town, watched the paddle boats, and stopped to water our plants before heading home and crashing for the evening.