National Military Easter Sunrise Service: April 20

The annual Easter Sunrise Service, hosted by Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, will be held at Memorial Amphitheater on Sunday, April 20. 

Published on: Wednesday, April 2, 2025 read more ...

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Author: Kevin M. Hymel
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President of the Philippines Visits ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel 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.

Stock Car Champion Denny Hamlin Tours ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/5/2023

By Kevin M. Hymel, Contract Historian

Denny Hamlin’s mother took great pride in her son’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery. While the stock car driver took in these hallowed grounds on May 3, 2023, she texted him an important message: “Isn’t it amazing the honor you have to go there today and lay a wreath?”

Civil War Veteran Buried at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 4/28/2023

 

U.S. (Union) Army Capt. Isaac Hart probably never imagined that, while leading his company of Black cavalrymen during the American Civil War, his remains would be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in 2023. But that’s exactly what happened on April 27 in Section 76.

Kevin M. Hymel
Contract Historian
Kevin M. Hymel

ANC Executive Director Gives Impromptu Tour to South Korean President

By Kevin M. Hymel 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. 
 

Expert Helps ANC Identify Artifact from the USS Maine

By Kevin M. Hymel on 4/14/2023

 

In February of 2023, Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) curator Rod Gainer needed to verify a relic from the wreck of the USS Maine. New Jersey’s Pascack Historical Society had offered to donate the artifact to ANC with limited provenance. So Gainer contacted Steve Whitaker, who has studied the famous ship and its place in history for the last eight years.

Kevin M. Hymel
Contract Historian
Kevin M. Hymel

First Hispanic Female Tomb Sentinel Makes Her Final Walk

By Kevin M. Hymel on 3/9/2023

On the afternoon of March 9, 2023, the U.S. Army’s first Hispanic female Tomb Sentinel guarded the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery for the last time. Sgt. Kamille Torres Zapata walked the 21 steps back and forth with acute precision until being relieved of duty during the changing of the guard ceremony. It was her 746th walk.

Kevin M. Hymel
Contract Historian
Kevin M. Hymel

Large Crowd Attends WWII Veteran’s Funeral Service

By Kevin M. Hymel on 2/24/2023

More than 300 people, most of them strangers to each other, showed up at Arlington National Cemetery on February 23, 2023, to ensure that U.S. Navy Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class (GM3) Herman Schmidt would not be buried alone.

Kevin M. Hymel
Contract Historian
Kevin M. Hymel

U.S. Coast Guard Honors Those Lost Aboard the USS Serpens

By Kevin M. Hymel on 1/30/2023

On the night of Jan. 29, 1945, the United States Coast Guard suffered its worst tragedy when the USS Serpens, a cargo ship crewed primarily by Coast Guard members, exploded off the coast of Guadalcanal, in the British Solomon Islands, carrying ammunition and other cargo bound for U.S. bases in the Pacific. While the crew was loading depth charges into the holds, a massive explosion suddenly occurred. More than 250 men lost their lives: nearly 200 Coast Guard members, 57 members of an Army stevedore unit and a U.S. Public Health Service surgeon. Only two of those aboard survived. The cause of the explosion was never definitively determined.  

Kevin M. Hymel
Contract Historian
Kevin M. Hymel

Army Veterans Honor Battle of the Bulge at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel on 1/25/2023

On Jan. 25, 2023, under cold gray skies and sleet, two World War II U.S. Army veterans returned to Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) to commemorate the Battle of the Bulge—the last major German offensive campaign on the western front. Darryl Bush and John Landry witnessed a wreath-laying at the Battle of the Bulge Memorial before laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Neither of the men seemed bothered by the weather, explaining that it was much colder 78 years ago in Europe.

Kevin M. Hymel
Contract Historian
Kevin M. Hymel

Vietnam War USAF Fighter Pilot Buried at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel 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.
 

Kevin M. Hymel
Contract Historian
Kevin M. Hymel