National Veterans Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery

The annual National Veterans Day Observance, honoring the men and women who have served and continue to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces during war and peacetime, will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. in the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. More info coming soon! 

Published on: Thursday, October 30, 2025

AUTHORS

JENIFER LEIGH VAN VLECK

Pearl Harbor Medal of Honor Recipient Laid to Rest at Arlington National Cemetery

By Kevin M. Hymel on 1/4/2024

When word came to abandon ship, Seaman 1st Class James Richard Ward remained at his post. The USS Oklahoma, docked at Pearl Harbor on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, had just been blasted by a series of Japanese torpedoes and began to capsize. Instead of charging out of the turret he manned, Ward held a flashlight to guide his fellow seamen out of danger. His selfless sacrifice saved countless lives and earned him the Medal of Honor.

Kevin M. Hymel

Thousands Lay Wreaths at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 1/4/2024

They lined up by thousands to honor the nation’s fallen during the holiday season. When Arlington National Cemetery opened on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, civilians and military personnel alike retrieved wreaths from trucks and headed across the grounds to place them at headstones and columbarium niches. 

Kevin M. Hymel

Public Lays Wreaths at Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery

By Kevin M. Hymel on 1/4/2024

On Dec. 16, 2023, more than 400 people visited the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery in Northwest Washington, D.C., to participate in Wreaths Across America Day.

Kevin M. Hymel

Remembering Clifton Pollard, JFK’s Grave Digger

By Kevin M. Hymel on 11/22/2023

John Metzler Sr. apologized when he asked Clifton Pollard to work on a Sunday to dig the grave for President John F. Kennedy. But Pollard didn’t mind at all. “It’s an honor for me to be here,” he said. The president had been assassinated on Friday, Nov. 22, 1963, and Pollard had been called at home Sunday morning to come to work that afternoon. He had dressed in his work overalls that morning in anticipation of the call.  

Kevin M. Hymel

U.S. Army Special Forces Honor President John F. Kennedy

By Kevin M. Hymel on 11/16/2023

U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. David Waldo stood at attention before President John F. Kennedy’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery. He removed his green beret, dropped to one knee and placed the beret at the base of the president’s flat, rectangular headstone. Then he stood up and slowly saluted the fallen commander-in-chief.  

Kevin M. Hymel

Australian Prime Minister Meets U.S. Army Soldier from Australia

By Kevin M. Hymel on 10/25/2023

On Oct. 23, 2023, Australian Prime Minster Anthony Albanese laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. He was delighted when U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Trevor J. Bredenkamp introduced him to an Army sergeant with a thick Australian accent: Sgt. Charlotte Carulli, who was born in Australia.

Kevin M. Hymel

WWII Medic Awarded Medals Posthumously at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 10/16/2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Cpl. Waverly Woodson, a Black U.S. Army medic, attended to one wounded American soldier after the next on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, on D-Day, June 6, 1944, he cared only about their injuries, not the color of their skin. While exposed to enemy fire and ignoring the shrapnel in his lower back and thigh, he set and amputated limbs, extracted bullets and dispensed plasma. He even pulled three soldiers out of the English Channel’s rising tide.

Kevin M. Hymel

WWII Marine Killed at Tarawa Interred at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 10/10/2023

When a representative from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) told Cheryl Cronin that her uncle, Marine Pvt. First Class Lawrence E. Garrison had been positively identified 80 years after his death in battle, she was overwhelmed. “I prayed really hard that this would happen in my lifetime,” she said. On Oct. 5, 2023, Cronin and a handful of family and friends laid Garrison to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

Kevin M. Hymel

Marine Osprey Crew Chief Buried at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 10/5/2023

Alexia Collart’s eyes filled with tears as she accepted the flag that had been draped over her son Marine Cpl. Spencer R. Collart’s casket. Her daughter Gweneth, sitting beside her, openly wept. Bart Collart, Cpl. Collart’s father, held back tears. The family’s grief spread to the crowd of more than 100 family and friends, who either dabbed their eyes or let the tears roll down their cheeks.

Twenty-one-year-old Cpl. Spencer died on Aug. 27, 2023, when the V-22 Osprey aircraft in which he was flying as the crew chief crashed in Australia during a training exercise. A month later, on Sept. 25, he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

Kevin M. Hymel

First Tomb Badge Awarded to Female Infantry Soldier

By Kevin M. Hymel on 9/22/2023

Army Pfc. Jessica Kwiatkowski made history on Sept. 18, 2023, when she became the first woman infantry soldier to earn the Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Identification Badge. Other women have earned the badge, but they have come from other career fields. Tomb Guards who earn the badge also earn the distinction of being referred to as Sentinels.

Kevin M. Hymel