Tomorrow, May 25, the Soldiers of The Old Guard (the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment) will for the 69th year honor our nation’s fallen military heroes at Arlington National Cemetery as part of our Memorial Day weekend observations.
In this time-honored tradition known as “Flags-In,” in a time span of four hours, “more than a thousand Old Guard Soldiers will place an American flag one foot in front of, and centered, at more than 280,000 headstones to honor every individual buried at Arlington National Cemetery.” They will also place an American flag at the foot of each Columbarium to account for the more than 400,000 interred.
Watch the video below:
This is the tenth Memorial Day in a row that this author has the privilege to write a few words in honor of these heroes.
Fresh, novel words fail me especially when so many have expressed so many much more eloquent and powerful thoughts before me.
The following are the immortal, haunting words written almost a century-and-a-half ago about the heroes “of revolution, of rebellion, of slavery and of freedom” by the great Civil War-era orator, Robert Green Ingersoll, a Colonel in the Union Army.
These heroes are dead. They died for liberty – they died for us. They are at rest. They sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, and the embracing vines. They sleep beneath the shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of Rest.
Earth may run red with other wars – they are at peace. In the midst of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death. I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead: cheers for the living; tears for the dead.
Below are excerpts from our 44th president’s tribute to our fallen at Arlington National Cemetery one year ago:
Here, at Arlington, the deafening sounds of combat have given way to the silence of these sacred hills. The chaos and confusion of battle has yielded to perfect, precise rows of peace. The Americans who rest here, and their families — the best of us, those from whom we asked everything — ask of us today only one thing in return: that we remember them.
If you look closely at the white markers that grace these hills, one thing you’ll notice is that so many of the years — dates of birth and dates of death — are so close together. They belong to young Americans; those who never lived to be honored as veterans for their service — men who battled their own brothers in Civil War, those who fought as a band of brothers an ocean away, men and women who redefine heroism for a new generation. There are generals buried beside privates they led. Americans known as “Dad” or “Mom.” Some only known to God. As Mr. Hallinan, a Marine who then watched over these grounds has said, “everyone here is someone’s hero.”
After honoring by name and personal attributes several heroes who had given their lives since the previous Memorial Day, the President concluded:
A nation reveals itself not only by the people it produces, but by those it remembers. We do so not just by hoisting a flag, but by lifting up our neighbors. Not just by pausing in silence, but by practicing in our own lives the ideals of opportunity and liberty and equality that they fought for. We can serve others, and contribute to the causes they believed in, and above all, keep their stories alive so that one day, when he grows up and thinks of his dad, an American like David Wheeler can tell them, as well, the stories of the lives that others gave for all of us.
We are so proud of them. We are so grateful for their sacrifice. We are so thankful to those families of the fallen. May God bless our fallen and their families. May He bless all of you. And may He forever bless these United States of America.
CODA:
The David Wheeler the President is referring to is the then 10-month-old son of Joshua Wheeler. Little David is being held in his mother’s arms during the ceremony.
This is how the President eulogized Army Special Ops Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler:
Joshua Wheeler’s sister says he was “exactly what was right about this world. He came from nothing and he really made something of himself.” As a kid, Josh was the one who made sure his brother and four half-sisters were dressed and fed and off to school. When there wasn’t food in the cupboard, he grabbed his hunting rifle and came back with a deer for dinner. When his country needed him, he enlisted in the Army at age 19.
He deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan — 14 times; earned 11 Bronze Stars, four for valor. Last October, as ISIL terrorists prepared to execute 70 hostages, Josh and his fellow Special Ops went in and rescued them. Every single one walked free. “We were already dead,” one of the hostages said, “then God sent us a force from the sky.” That force was the U.S. Army, including Josh Wheeler.
Josh was the doting dad who wrote notes to his kids in the stacks of books he read. Flying home last summer to be with his wife, Ashley, who was about to give birth, he scribbled one note in the novel he was reading, just to tell his unborn son he was on his way. Ashley Wheeler is with us here today, holding their 10-month-old son, David. Ashley says Josh’s memory makes her think about how can she be a better citizen. And she hopes it’s what other people think about, too. Today, this husband and father rests here, in Arlington, in Section 60. And as Americans, we resolve to be better — better people, better citizens, because of Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler.
An Army carry team moves the transfer case of U.S. Army Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler during the dignified transfer of his remains at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Oct. 24, 2015. DoD photo by Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz
Lead photo: Courtesy Arlington National Cemetery
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.