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 ...

Memorial Avenue Monuments

aerial view of Memorial Avenue

The entrance to Arlington National Cemetery extends across the Potomac River to near the Lincoln Memorial at the eastern edge of Memorial Bridge. Memorial Avenue, Memorial Bridge and the entrance to the cemetery were designed as a single project, dedicated on January 16, 1932 by President Herbert Hoover.

In the post-Civil War era, the Memorial Bridge was intended as a symbolic link between North and South. Architects McKim, Meade & White designed the bridge to extend along an axis joining the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House.

Memorial Avenue features several memorials and monuments. These include the Seabees Memorial, the Armored Forces Memorial, the United Spanish War Veterans Memorial ("The Hiker"), the Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd Monument, the 101st Airborne Division Memorial and the 4th (Ivy) Infantry Division Memorial. Memorial Avenue ends at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, dedicated in 1997 to honor all women who have served in the United States armed forces.

From the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, roads into the cemetery lead both north and south through a pair of ornate wrought iron gates. On the north side, Schley Gate commemorates Admiral Winfield Scott Schley, a hero of the Spanish-American War (1898). On the south side, Roosevelt Gate honors President Theodore Roosevelt. At the center of each gate, a gold wreath features a shield with the seals of the U.S. military services. The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard seals are on the Schley Gate wreath, while the U.S. Army and Marine Corps seals are on the Roosevelt Gate wreath. When the gates were installed, the U.S. Air Force was still a branch of the Army, so its seal does not appear.