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TIMOTHY JAMES LAWSON

Eighteen-Year-Old Sailor Killed at Pearl Harbor Buried at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 7/3/2024

U.S. Navy Seaman Second Class Challis James celebrated his eighteenth birthday three weeks before his death at Pearl Harbor, on Dec. 7, 1941. He was serving aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma when several Japanese torpedoes slammed into its hull, forcing it to capsize. The ship became his grave.

Veterans Help Place Flags at Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/24/2024

Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) got some extra help placing flags at the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2024, when a handful of veterans from the adjacent Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home showed up to assist.

WWII Soldier Who Died in the Bataan Death March Buried at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/14/2024

Pvt. Doyle "Wayne" Sexton of the U.S. Army Air Forces bravely fought the Japanese in the Philippines for three months in 1942, but tragically succumbed to the harsh conditions of the Bataan Death March three months later. He died in a Prisoner of War (POW) camp on July 19, 1942, and was buried in the camp cemetery in a common grave. He was only 23 years old. For decades, Sexton remained unknown until 2023, when scientists from the Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency identified his remains.

Former ANC Employee Provides Special Opportunity to Veterans from Altoona

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/14/2024

Three retired U.S. Army veterans rose from their wheelchairs, stood, and walked across Arlington National Cemetery’s memorial plaza to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. All three then snapped sharp salutes when an Army bugler sounded Taps. The men had come from their retirement facility in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on May 2, 2024, to honor their fallen comrades and those who gave their lives for their country.

2023 Coca-Cola 600 Champion Ryan Blaney Visits ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/14/2024

Ryan Blaney, the winner of 2023’s NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600, came to Arlington National Cemetery on May 1, 2024, to honor those who sacrificed all for their country. ANC Superintendent Charles Alexander, Jr. and Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Strategic Engagement Melanie Fonder Kaye greeted him and his group.

Missing WWII Bomber Crewman Buried at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 4/25/2024

Twenty-two-year-old Sgt. Irving R. Newman never returned from his bombing mission over Sicily in May of 1943. The B-24 Liberator bomber, of which he was a crewmember, took enemy anti-aircraft fire and his pilot tried to land the bomber on the island of Malta, but the burning aircraft crashed into the Mediterranean Sea short of the runway. Nine of the bomber’s crew were rescued, but Newman went down with the aircraft.

Army General Brings French Teenagers to ANC to Honor Liberators

By Kevin M. Hymel on 4/19/2024

On June 12, 1944, six days after D-Day, paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division liberated the French town of Carentan, uniting the American-held beachheads on Omaha and Utah Beach. The people of Carentan never forgot about their liberation and today still host visiting 101st soldiers. Local teenagers even help teach American soldiers about the battle. 

Army Band’s First Female Drummer Plays for Japanese Prime Minister

By Kevin M. Hymel on 4/15/2024

Once Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida finished laying a wreath before the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on April 9, 2024, Sgt. 1st Class Sidonie McCray played muffled ruffles on her drum, signaling that the Army bugler was about to sound Taps. It was an important moment for both. Kishida paid homage to his American ally’s history of sacrifice, while McCray served for the first time as the Special Drummer for a head-of-state ceremony.

Visiting Vietnam Veteran Recalls Action that Earned Him the Medal of Honor

By Kevin M. Hymel on 3/29/2024

Medal of Honor recipient Col. Walter Joseph Marm, Jr. recently visited Arlington National Cemetery to participate in an Army Full Honors Wreath Ceremony in recognition of Medal of Honor Day. After laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, he reflected on his combat actions in Vietnam, for which he received the medal.

Ghost Army Soldiers receive Congressional Gold Medal

By Kevin M. Hymel on 3/27/2024

During World War II, the U.S. Army deployed a special unit to help defeat Nazi Germany. Col. Harry Reeder’s 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, better known as the “Ghost Army,” made up of artists and technicians, fooled the Germans into thinking the American Army was strong where it was weak. The top-secret unit employed inflatable tanks, fake radio communications and decoy unit markings to keep the enemy guessing.