AUTHORS

TIMOTHY JAMES LAWSON

British Prime Minister Speaks of Unity During ANC Visit

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian on 6/7/2023

“We continue to work together,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Arlington National Cemetery superintendent Charles “Ray” Alexander as he toured historic displays inside the cemetery’s Memorial Amphitheater on June 7, 2023. Sunak had been speaking about the historically strong bond between the United States and the United Kingdom

Public Reflects on Flowers of Remembrance

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian on 6/1/2023

They stood in a line that stretched from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to the western entrance to the Memorial Amphitheater, each person holding a flower. On Sunday, May 28, 2023, people from across the United States, and further, came to Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) to honor those who had fallen in duty to their country. Each laid a flower at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a new tradition at ANC called Flowers of Remembrance Day.

ANC Staff Prepare the Cemetery for Memorial Day

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian on 5/23/2023

On May 22, 2022, Arlington National Cemetery’s Superintendent Charles “Ray” Alexander strapped on a safety harness and climbed into a cherry picker. The machine raised him about 30 feet to the apse of the cemetery’s Memorial Amphitheater. Once he reached the top, he pulled on a rope attached to an American flag below. As he drew up the rope, the flag unfurled out of its box as U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Donny Davis, the senior enlisted advisor to ANC’s executive director, steadied the flag and ensured it did not touch the ground.

President of the Philippines Visits ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian on 5/9/2023

President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took particular interest in Arlington National Cemetery when he came to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on May 4, 2023. Accompanied by Maj. Gen. Allan M. Pepin, commander of the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and U.S. Army Military District of Washington, Marcos walked past the joint honor guard and laid a wreath before heading into the cemetery’s Memorial Amphitheater display room.

Michigan Football Team Visits ANC

By on 5/5/2023

Four Wolverine football players from the University of Michigan placed their right hands over their hearts as a U.S. Army bugler sounded Taps. They had just laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, just one of the highlights of the team’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery on May 2, 2023.

ANC Executive Director Gives Impromptu Tour to South Korean President

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian on 4/27/2023

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol changed his mind. After laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) on April 25, 2023, he was supposed to depart the cemetery. But as he passed through the Memorial Amphitheater, he stopped to look at the plaque that his country gave to the United States, on exhibit in the Amphitheater’s Display Room (which features numerous plaques given by foreign leaders who have visited ANC). He then began to peruse the exhibit on the history of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 
 

Vietnam War USAF Fighter Pilot Buried at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian on 1/10/2023

Air Force Colonel Charles “Vas” Vasiliadis, who was buried in Section 7 on January 9, 2023, left behind a strong legacy of military service that not only affected the nation, but personally affected at least two people attending his funeral: his son Douglas and granddaughter Sophia.
 

Contract Historian
Kevin M. Hymel

Presidential Salute Battery Honors Dignitaries and Events

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian on 12/27/2022

On December 19, 2022, the Soldiers of the Presidential Salute Battery stood before their cannons, awaiting the arrival of Ecuador’s president, Guillermo Lasso. The Soldiers had set up three polished and gleaming 105mm howitzers at Section 37 of Arlington National Cemetery, and their two-man teams were ready to fire. Behind them stood four senior Soldiers and a captain.

Contract Historian
Kevin M. Hymel

USS Oklahoma Sailors Find Final Resting Place at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian on 12/7/2022

Seaman Edward E. Casinger’s burial service on November 19, 2022, marked the twenty-eighth burial of a USS Oklahoma crewman at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC). It also marked an eighty-year journey from the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, to today. Burials of Oklahoma crewmen have a profound effect on those who make them possible, from the scientists at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) to the sailors who lay them to rest.

Contract Historian
Kevin M. Hymel