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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After Over 82 Years, a Navy Radioman’s Legacy Lives On

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/30/2024

U.S. Navy Radioman 3rd Class Starring Winfield had been married for only six weeks when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Winfield perished on the battleship USS Oklahoma. The Navy later raised the ship and removed the remains of its crew. However, Winfield remained unaccounted for, and a military board later classified him as non-recoverable.  

A Tomb Guard’s Special Duty: Honoring the Unknowns During Memorial Day Weekend

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/29/2024

With the slow, measured steps typical of a Tomb Guard, Spc. Jeffrey Potter carried four small American flags to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He wore a raincoat over his ceremonial dress blue uniform to ward off rain from the light showers that had soaked the Tomb plaza.

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.

Old Guard Continues Memorial Day Tradition of Placing Flags at Arlington National Cemetery

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/24/2024

Memorial Day weekend starts early at Arlington National Cemetery. At dawn on the Thursday morning prior to Memorial Day, soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (the Army’s official ceremonial unit, also known as The Old Guard) lead this revered tradition known as “Flags In.”

Historians Commemorate ANC's 160th Anniversary with a Special Tour

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/20/2024

To commemorate the 160th anniversary of the establishment of a military cemetery at Arlington, ANC’s History Office led a public tour in Section 27 on May 13, 2024. Command Historian Dr. Stephen Carney and Senior Historian Dr. Allison Finkelstein described how the Civil War led to the cemetery’s creation and early development. 

Sailor Who Dove off the USS Oklahoma Identified Eight Decades Later

By Kevin M. Hymel on 5/20/2024

During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, 20-year-old Seaman First Class Frank “Cremo” Hryniewicz dove off the battleship USS Oklahoma to escape strafing enemy aircraft. He never resurfaced. Although his remains were later recovered from the ship, they could not be identified and were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii.

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.