Easter Sunrise Service

Join Arlington National Cemetery and Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall for the annual National Military Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, March 31, 6:30-7:30 a.m.

Published on: Monday, March 4, 2024 read more ...

AUTHORS

The Meanings of “Wreaths” for One ANC Employee

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian on 12/14/2023

Like many staff members at ANC, Quality Assurance Specialist Patrick McGrady has family members buried or inurned at the cemetery. McGrady, who served for 14 years as an Army mechanic, visits his parents’ niche in Columbarium Court 7 almost every day. McGrady’s father, a major in the Marine Corps, served during the Vietnam War and earned a Bronze Star for his actions.

World War II POW—and Bataan Death March Survivor—Buried at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian on 12/14/2023

When U.S. Army Pvt. David Whipple’s descendants could not attend his funeral service at Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 3, 2023, Army soldiers and an Army Arlington Lady made sure he was laid to rest with honor and dignity.

Joint Burial Service for Two WWII Fliers

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian on 12/14/2023

U.S. Army Air Forces navigator 2nd Lt. Porter M. Pile and radio operator Tech Sgt. James M. Triplett went down with their B-24 bomber over Germany on Sept. 27, 1944. For the next 79 years, Pile and Triplett were considered missing in action.

Remembering Clifton Pollard, JFK’s Grave Digger

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian 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.  

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

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian 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.  

24 Notes

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian on 11/6/2023

During wreath laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Master Sgt. Matthew Byrne marches out to the Tomb, brings his bugle to his lips and slowly sounds out the 24 notes of the bugle call Taps. When finished, he tucks the bugle under his arm, salutes and marches away.

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

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian 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.

Black WWII Medic Awarded Medals Posthumously at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian 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.

WWII Marine Killed at Tarawa Interred at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian 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.

Marine Osprey Crew Chief Buried at ANC

By Kevin M. Hymel, Historian 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.