Arlington National Cemetery Wreaths Across America 2011.......Images Pt II.

As I walked across to the Tomb of The Unknowns,I passed a mother and  daughter.I kept walking and didn't pay them much attention but I got a sense to turn around for another look.

These series of images are my most powerful memory of Arlington.

A few camera clicks spoke volumes.

Section 60,the saddest acre in the United States of America,the final resting place for mothers,fathers,sons,daughters,husbands,wives,lovers.
The final resting place for those who took an oath of "Whatever It Takes,Up To And Including My Own Life" to defend and keep the protective umbrella over our heads here on U.S. soil.








"People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf".   George Orwell.






Murph

Wreaths Across America,Arlington Cemetery 2011...........Images Pt I.

It was a cold ride in to Arlington National Cemetery from my friends Steve Uzell and Susan Lambert's home near Leesburg,VA.I was up at 4:30am,get the coffee on,try to keep quiet.

Morning temps were only in the 20's,still dark and cold outside.I had my camera gear ready to go,fired up the bike,off I went.

I was pretty much alone on the road until I got to Memorial Drive,a long straightaway that culminates at the Women In Military Service For America Memorial and the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery at the west end of the drive,turn around and look back east,back across the Arlington Memorial Bridge and you look straight at the Lincoln Memorial.

The entrance to the Cemetery was already backed up with traffic back to the Arlington Memorial Bridge,luckily I was on a motorcycle,up the side I went to the top,where I got in line behind the press corp and a CNN crew.

It was my first time coming to Arlington,and I wasn't really sure what to expect.I rode up from Hollywood FL spur of the moment,a last minute decision.I had read about Morrill Worcester and what he had being doing at Arlington for the past 20 years,so it was one of those moments that already decided itself for me,so I left the next morning on the bike.

Members of the Civil Air Patrol Honor Guard at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery,as the convoy of 20 trucks that drove from Maine with the Ceremonial Wreaths pass through the gates to the cemetery.

Morrill Worcester on the left.

 I have another post of images yet to come on my visit here,but needless to say,Arlington is a powerful and beautiful place,but it was all the people who came here to be a part of this event that made it for me.It's hard to explain,but it was like one big family coming together to honor their brothers and sisters who paid the ultimate price for their country.




Murph