Our Nation's Most Hallowed Ground

A Visit To Arlington National Cemetery, Where The Fallen From The Civil War To Iraq And Afghanistan Are Laid To Rest

(CBS)  Every day there are dozens of funerals at Arlington National Cemetery - veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and younger soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. CBS National Security Correspondent David Martin visited our nation's most hallowed ground.

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Three hundred and twenty thousand men and women lie buried here - the famous and the unknown. They all have one thing in common: they served their country honorably.

"It is a wonderful, terrible place," said author Elizabeth Pryor. "It is wonderful because the history here is monumental. And it's a beautiful place."

Pryor views Arlington National Cemetery through a unique lens - the letters of the man who lived in the house on its grounds, Robert E. Lee.

"He once wrote that Arlington was the place that his feelings were more attached than any other place," Pryor said.

It was in Arlington House, a house built by slaves, that Lee decided to resign his commission in the United States Army and fight for the South.

"The decision he made in this house, in his bedroom on the second floor, forever altered the course of American history," said park ranger Kendall Thompson.

… And the history of this great estate. In time of war its commanding view of the nation's capital, said Thompson, made it more than just a scenic overlook.

"At the time, artillery was pretty accurate to about four miles," Thompson said. "It's around 3.8 miles as a cannonball flies from here to the Capitol."

"This is the high ground that you've got to occupy in a war?" Martin asked.

"Uh-huh, and after Lee left, it was only a matter of weeks before the Army crossed the river and did settle into the house."

More than half a million soldiers died in the most awful war in the nation's history, and it turned Lee's estate into a graveyard.

Private William Chrisman was the first to be buried here. He'd only been in the Army for 90 days. "Died of peritonitis," said Tom Sherlock, the cemetery's historian. "Never saw combat."

Sherlock said no one realized this would one day be a national shrine.

"It was the result of the burial space in and around the city of Washington being exhausted by the sick and the wounded being brought to the Army hospitals here," he said.

Was it an honor to be buried here then?

"It was not," Sherlock said. "You know, today Arlington is thought of in such high esteem. But back during the Civil War you probably wouldn't have wanted a friend or relative buried here because we're basically burying two types of soldiers: unknowns, which one out of every three combat deaths were during the Civil War, and also soldiers whose families didn't have the money to return them home. So it was basically a potter's field."

Just over the hill, more rows of Civil War dead. But these headstones tell a very different story. Many bear the initials "USCT."

"USCT stands for United States Colored Troops," said Sherlock. "And these were some of the first African Americans that were actually allowed in combat roles, during the Civil War. And although that's not a term we'd use today, in the 1860s a black man would have been proud to be called a United States Colored Troops."

"Now, if anybody had a stake in the outcome of that war …" said Martin.

"Absolutely. I can't think of an American soldier that knew the values of fighting for freedom more, because they were literally fighting for their freedom from slavery."

As the slaughter mounted, General Montgomery Meigs, the quartermaster of the Union Army, took his revenge by ordering the dead to be buried in Mrs. Lee's beloved rose garden.

"She said they planted them up to the very door without even common decency," Pryor recounted. "General Meigs personally came here and paced off these graves because he wanted them in full view of the Lees' house."

"Sounds like an act of spite," Martin said.

"It does," she agreed. "It's clear from his own writings that he did have a strong sense of maliciousness, vindictiveness. It's not a nice way to begin a hallowed place."

No one thought of Arlington as a hallowed place until 25,000 people attended the funeral for the crew of the Battleship Maine which blew up and sank in the harbor at Havana, Cuba in 1898. It was that generation's 9/11, and it became the battle cry ("Remember the Maine!") for the Spanish-American War.

What made Arlington the place of honor was another 9/11-like shock - the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the nationally televised funeral procession as he crossed the Potomac for the last time and was laid to rest at the foot of Lee's mansion.

There is every reason to believe JFK would have approved of the site selected for his grave. He visited here just six months before he was killed.

"The president was taking in the view of the city of Washington, and he said, 'This is beautiful. I could stay here forever,'" Sherlock said.

The burial of President Kennedy was the one event that changed how Arlington is operated as a cemetery.

Requests for burial in Arlington quadrupled, forcing the cemetery to tighten up its eligibility requirements. The number of tourists shot up even more, from one million a year to 9 million in the first six months after Kennedy's burial. It's back to a steady state of between 4 and 5 million a year now, but the eternal flame, along with the Tomb of the Unknowns, is still the most visited site.

The cemetery is busier than it's ever been: 27 to 30 funerals a day, 7,000 a year. The majority of funerals are those of World War II veterans and their spouses being buried each day here.

No one is more deeply steeped in Arlington's rhythms of death and honor than Jack Metzler. He grew up here when his father was superintendent, and now he's the superintendent.

Orchestrating the rigid protocol of 30 funerals a day is a military operation all its own.

"Everything is worked off of a schedule and we reuse the caissons, we reuse the troops, funeral after funeral throughout the day," Metzler said.

"You must worry about one funeral crossing another," Martin said.

"Caissons don't back up. They go forward," Metzler said. "So we have to be very careful that we don't cross caissons or cross processions through the day.

"A funeral here at Arlington Cemetery is a one-time event, so we work very hard to ensure that everything is done correctly the first time."

There are basically two kinds of funerals at Arlington - veterans who have lived out their years, and soldiers who have fallen on the field of battle.

"Burying someone whose time has come, World War II veteran, there's usually a large family, grandchildren, great-grandchildren," Metzler said. "It's a celebration of life. The military sends this individual off in grand style. It's a celebration.

"Now when you go to an active duty funeral, talking about someone who is 19, 20, 21 years old, it's a completely different funeral. Raw emotions."

Which brings us to what is simply known as Section 60, where nearly 500 dead from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. Here wives leave fresh kisses on their husbands' tombstones, stuffed animals keep the fallen company, and colored stones are a way of showing love.

Ami Miller leaves stones for her brother, Chris Neiberger, whom she visits every week.

"I leave one for my mother and for my father. One for myself. One for my husband. My brother Eric. His wife Ellie. My brother Robert. And my Aunt Susan. It's really the immediate people affected, hurting for him."

Chris Neiberger had just turned 22 the Friday before he was killed.

Three headstones away, at the grave of his fiancé Maria Ortiz, Juan Casiano takes up his weekend vigil.

"I still love her and I miss her so much," he said. He was wearing the hat that she wore when he dropped her off at Fort Bliss, Texas, to go to Iraq.

Ortiz was the first nurse killed in combat since Vietnam.

Why did Casiano choose to have her buried here?

"This is holy ground," he said. "What an honor to be buried here, you know? And I thought, let's bring her here where she can always be remembered. And always having someone paying respects to her for her duty."

Chris Neiberger's father wanted his son buried here. "I think he felt very strongly that Chris would want to be with his fellow soldiers," Ami Miller said. "This is a very honorable place."

The tour buses don't stop at Section 60 - there are no crowds to eavesdrop on conversations between the living and the dead. But people are beginning to find their way to this part of the cemetery.

"Do you mind the tourists?" Martin asked Miller.

"I mind being treated like an attraction, I mind that," she said. "If people want to come and pay their respects and are respectful to me that's OK."

A place of profound sorrow open for everyone to visit. But only those who have served their country with honor are allowed to stay.

[jankebenz]

please don''t complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country! And may I add:



''Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don''t have that problem'' -- Ronald Reagan



''If we ever forget that we''re One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under'' Also by.. Ronald Reagan



In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England ''s Prime Minister Tony Blair''s words during a recent interview. When asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America , he said: ''A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in.. And how many want out.''

[jankebenz]

jankebenz,,,, Accept the facts & move on --- Islam is the same Evangelism - Just a different prophet & book

Posted by j-whitman at 04:40 PM : May 26, 2008

You could not be more wrong,Islam and christianity are as different as day and night. The former is forced, the latter is a gift.

[j-whitman]

jankebenz,,,, Yes the threat of terrorism is a real threat --- Don''t you think it''s about time we got it right istead of "More of the Same" ????

This GOP & their Iran-Contra people & mentality running this war & intelligence have only added to the problem & increased terrorism.

Quite frankly, your GOP doesn''t have a very good record on wars in this century. Your party causes more damage to our national security than good.

[jankebenz]

Posted by FloydZeppl at 04:35 PM : May 26, 2008. Your analogy is typical of head in sand liberal ideology, your language futher proves it
If you don''t think America is under threat then the arrogance and stupidity is all your''s.In case you have''nt noticed, Americans have lost a lot of rights and freedoms since 9/11 and the threat of terrorist action against U.S. intrests is very real.

[arustynail]

It''s amazing with all those courageous (men - loose term)that never served a day of their pathetic little lives always seem to wrap themselves in the american flag and hide behind the valor of our men and women in the armed forces. These people always seem to wear the valor of real patriots on their sleeves as if it were their own. Sounds so republican to me!! (no offense intended to those patriots that happen to be republicans who have served)

[j-whitman]

jankebenz,,,, Accept the facts & move on --- Islam is the same Evangelism - Just a different prophet & book

[sharncedar]

Next they will be telling the pigs at the slaughterhouse what an honour it is to be eaten by rich people. Can you see the stupid pig relatives all crying tears of joy that their son gave the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the rich man''s feast, I mean of the country?

Arlington in the future should be kept as a museum and a shocking educational tour to show how many people were sacrificed to make profits for defense contractors. Hopefully the next stop will be the graveyard where they keep the defense contractors and bankers, that is the one "sacrifice" that would actually be good for our nation.

[arustynail]

I wrote my Senator several months ago regarding all the war profiteering taking place and all the money that was ultimately watsted and unaccounted for.He indicated that the republican party defeated a measure to eliminate war profiteering!! Go figure.

[floydzeppl]

For all you that support anti america views
.......
Posted by jankebenz at 04:22 PM : May 26, 2008
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Hey arrogant shiitboy. Don''t pretend that because many, many of us who were born and raised, will live and die in - and defend and die for - The United States of America - don''t agree with your off-the-deep-end, psychotic right nutwing political views, that we are Anti-American. I''m certain that when America really is under threat - not by this sissy, evangelicals afraid of tribal levels Muslims crapola - but really under threat, it will be people like me dying while you and your kind will be hiding in a cave somewhere.

Save your self-righteousness for people as dumb as yourself. They''ll still buy it.

We don''t.

[sharncedar]

If it is such an "honour" to be dead and buried under one of the look-alike manufactured crosses at Arlington, why don''t the rich and the war profiteers start volunteering their kids for the honour? I guess they are being generous, the banker''s children don''t get all these wonderful "honours" just wealth and boring riches and huge tracts of land and penthouse apartments in NYC. How sad for them, the "honour" that they let us have, they are really stupid. We get lots and lots of dead kids to celevrate and feel proud of, their kids get nothing, nothing, nothing, but ownership of the land and private jets and luxury condos in Miami and ownership of the very beaches on our coastline.

We sure pulled a fast one on those rich defense contractors and bankers! All right! Let''s send our kids to die! Yeah! more "honour" for us, all right, we are winning! hooray! Let''s have a parade! Stupid rich people .. heh ... we sure are getting all thew good stuff ... now quiet while I play the national anthem ... not you rich people, you don;''t have to be quiet of course, you are international citizens and need to be off in your private jets to sell arms to Dubai

[jankebenz]

I''ll care when the cowardly so-called ''insurgents'' in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.



I''ll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide .



I''ll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution''s Bill of Rights.



In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don''t care.



When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazing incident, rest assured: I don''t care.



When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank: I don''t care.



When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed ''special'' food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being ''mishandled,'' you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don''t care.



And oh, by the way, I''ve noticed that sometimes it''s spelled ''Koran'' and other times ''Quran.'' Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and-you guessed it-I don''t care!!

[arustynail]

And John McCain indicated that we need to develop alternative enery sources so our men and women won''t have to fight in the middle east again!

[j-whitman]

jankebenz,,,, Yes, we are supposed to be fighting a war on terror ----- Can''t do that with policies that only have resulted in destabilization of regions, increased dangers of terrorism or ignoring our loss of influence.

[jankebenz]

For all you that support anti america views



Letter from one ''Angry Woman''

I don''t know who wrote it but they should have signed it. Some powerful words. This woman should run for president.

Written by a housewife from New Jersey and sounds like it! This is one ticked off lady.



''Are we fighting a war on terror or aren''t we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?

Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan , across the Potomac from our nation''s capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania ?



Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn''t they?



And I''m supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was ''desecrated'' when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?...Well, I don''t. I don''t care at all.



I''ll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

They had lived here a year before they attacked America.



I''ll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia



I''ll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for chopping off Nick Berg''s head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat.

continued-

[j-whitman]

jankebenz,,,, They where Christians, Muslems, Cathlics, Mormans, Jews, Aithiests, Agnostics & even Wiccan''s

And Iraq isn''t about our freedom -- That war is for Iraqi''s to form a Islamic nation with Iranian influence & a Constitutional Sharia Law,,,, nothing has turned out the way your GOP expected.

[jankebenz]

jankebenz --- Get off your Jesus cloud,, You are wrong on all counts

Posted by j-whitman at 03:56 PM : May 26, 2008

I don''t know what kind of cloud you''re in but 2 billion christians and millions of fallen solders who died defending freedom stand against you and others who deny the truth.

[j-whitman]

redlipsahead,,,,, Let''s assume McBush hasn''t forgotten his service, which his selling out this country & lies on war don''t seem to support.

McBush takes Ambien CR to go to sleep -- You going to trust someone on psycotic drugs to handle our security & command decisions ????

[redlipsahead]

WE ARE A PROUD AMERICA. WE HONOR OUR SOLDIERS WHO FOUGHT SO BRAVELY FOR US.

IT''S A SHAME THAT MICHELLE OBAMA DIDN''T REALIE HOW GREAT AMERICA WAS UNTIL SHE BECAME AN ADULT.

IT''S A SHAME THAT REV. WRIGHT SAYS GOD *** AMERICA.

IT''S A SHAME THAT HUSSEIN OBAMA THINKS WE ARE IN A WAR THAT WE SHOULDN''T BE INVOLVED IN. WHAT ABOUT THE 4,000 AMERICANS THAT SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES TO KEEP US SAFE AND FREE HERE IN AMERICA? OBAMA, WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE TERRORISTS RUNNING AROUND AMERICA OR IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD?

TODAY IS THE DAY TO THANK OUR SOLDIERS. THANK YOU JOHN MCCAIN AND EVERY OTHER SOLDIER WHO SERVED OUR COUNTRY. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

I HOPE ALL OF THE DEMOCRATIC SUPER-DELEGATES DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR AMERICA AND CAST THEIR VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON AND LET THE BEST TWO CANDIDATES RUN AGAINST EACH OTHER IN NOVEMBER. MCCAIN VS CLINTON.

[arustynail]

I find GWB the most egregious hipocrite ever in our nations history. The only sacrifice this poor excuse for an individual was to give up GOLF! I''m sure he was miserable at it anyway just like he was a miserable failure at anything he''s ever done. There are not enough definitions in a dictionary to describe this vile individual.

[j-whitman]

jankebenz --- Get off your Jesus cloud,, You are wrong on all counts