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I proposed to She Who Must Be Obeyed on Christmas Day, in front of all the usual suspects. So now the marriage machine is in full stroke and I am planning our honeymoon. I think we have settled on a roadtrip through the Appalachians up to Arlington. Probably come back through the FL panhandle, over to Nawlins and back home to Dallas. I have a few thoughts and many questions ...

ARLINGTON, Texas - A dog owner claims an Arlington police officer overreacted and shot his dog five times as his children watched. Buck Yandle said two police officers and an animal control officer showed up at his home on Lake Jackson Drive last week. They were there about his dog Bucky, a basset hound and Rottweiler mix. Neighbors said Bucky nipped a boy in the back after school. The dog never bit him, but it was enough to scare the 10-year-old. Yandle stepped outside to meet with the officers. He said he closed the door and left his four children...

Neither rain nor sleet nor Hurricane Irene will prevent soldiers from standing sentry at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. Though most businesses, shops, and government offices will be closed, not even the hurricane expected to hit the Washington area this weekend—and its roughly 85-miles-per-hour winds—will keep the guards from their duty. “The tomb has been guarded continuously since 1948,” said Maj. John Miller, a spokesman for the Old Guard, the Army unit that patrols the place. “There’s been severe in the past. There will be severe weather in the future. We have contingency plans.” -snip- Tradition...

Federal authorities on Thursday formally charged a Marine reservist in connection with 2010 shootings at the Pentagon and the National Museum of the Marine Corps. According to a criminal complaint, law enforcement officers searched the residence of Yonathan Melaku and found numerous documents concerning bomb-making and explosives. Melaku was arrested last week after he was found trespassing in Arlington National Cemetery before dawn. A car he pointed authorities to set off a bomb scare near the Pentagon. Officials said they seized a digital videotape in Melaku's bedroom desk. According to the criminal complaint, a review of the videotape showed Melaku...

WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps reservist arrested in Arlington National Cemetery last week with suspicious materials in his backpack was charged Thursday with firing shots last year at five military buildings in the Washington area, including the Pentagon. ...The late-night shots fired at the Pentagon, the National Museum of the Marine Corps and military recruiting offices last October and November were intended to shut down the buildings, the Justice Department said Thursday. No one was wounded in the shootings, which caused $100,000 in damage.

Sources told ABC News a backpack in Melaku's possession contained a package labeled ammonium nitrate as well as spent firearm ammunition. Ammonium nitrate, a common fertilizer, can be used in explosives. The FBI later said despite the label, the backpack presented no immediate threat. A search of Melaku's nearby car also found no potential devices. Law enforcement sources said Melaku does not appear to have known ties to any terror organization. In addition to his arrest today, Melaku already faces pending charges in Loudoun County, Virginia, for a rash of vehicle break-ins, police said.

Arlington Cemetery: Hallowed Ground Memorial Day is a time to honor and remember those who have died in combat. And Arlington National Cemetery brings home the stark realities of war. LIFE.com has published a series of photos from the historic cemetery that capture both the grand scale and the intimacy of this most hallowed place.

Reporting from Arlington, Va.— Rosemary Brown is standing over the grave of her son at Arlington National Cemetery when someone catches her eye. It's a boy in khaki shorts and muddy shoes, juggling a clunky camera and the Motorola Xoom he got for his 17th birthday five days earlier. "May I ask what you're doing?" Brown inquires. The boy begins to peck at the Xoom tablet, and in seconds the image that Brown has come all the way from Cartwright, Okla., to see fills the screen. It's the white marble headstone of Army Special Forces Staff Sgt. Jason L. Brown,...

Rosemary Brown is standing over the grave of her son at Arlington National Cemetery when someone catches her eye. It's a boy in khaki shorts and muddy shoes, juggling a clunky camera and the Motorola Xoom he got for his 17th birthday five days earlier. ...His website, preserveandhonor.com, is a reverent catalog of the fallen, and one young man's response to a scandal of Army mismanagement, mismarked graves and unmarked remains that has rocked this hallowed place for two years. "It's a tool to help remember people. They can go on and think, 'Wow, look at all these people who...

Mrs. Donald Rumsfeld joined the first responders from 9/11 to christen the amphibious transport dock ship Arlington (LPD 24) at Northrop Grumman shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The ship is named for the city of Arlington, Virginia, honoring the 184 victims in the air and on the ground who lost their lives when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The Arlington also honors the military and civilian employees, emergency, fire and rescue personnel of Arlington County and surrounding communities who provided the critical assistance after the attack. Ship sponsor Joyce Rumsfeld, wife of former Secretary...

PASCAGOULA -- The Northrop Grumman-built amphibious transport dock ship Arlington will be christened on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the company’s shipyard in Pascagoula. The ship is named for the city of Arlington, Va., in honor of the 184 people who died when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. The company said the ship also honors the military and civilian employees, emergency, fire and rescue personnel of Arlington County who provided assistance after the attack. The ship’s sponsor is Joyce Rumsfeld, wife of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Arlington County Fire Chief...

The last surviving World War I veteran was laid to rest on Tuesday and as a result Governor Jack Dalrymple ordered all government buildings to lower their flags to half-staff in honor of Frank Buckles. Buckles died in February at the age of 110; he was laid to rest Tuesday at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Mr. Buckles` generation was the first to lift America to its permanent role as a leader on the international stage. He enlisted in the Army at 16 after lying about his age.

ARLINGTON, Va., March 15, 2011 – America recognized the end of an era today as it bade a solemn farewell to Army Cpl. Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last surviving U.S. World War I veteran, as he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery here with full military honors. A soldier with the Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, “The Old Guard,” keeps a constant vigil over the casket of Army Cpl. Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last U.S. World War I veteran, as he laid in repose before his burial today at Arlington National Cemetery. A gold-leafed “Winged Victory” figure presented to...

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2011 – America will pay its respects to its last World War I veteran March 15, as former Army Cpl. Frank Buckles is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, left, talks with Frank Buckles, then age 107, the last known U.S. World War I veteran, during a Pentagon ceremony March 6, 2008. Buckles was honored during the ceremony, which included the unveiling an exhibit of veterans' portraits by photographer David DeJonge. DOD photo by R.D. Ward   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Buckles -- the last of the more than 5 million...

ARLINGTON — Hours after the Rev. Clint Dobson was suffocated with a plastic bag and his assistant severely beaten inside NorthPointe Baptist Church, the suspects in his slaying laughed while watching a television news report about the case, according to court documents. Steven Lawayne Nelson, 24, and Anthony Gregory Springs, 19, “began laughing and making inappropriate comments about Dobson’s death” Thursday, according to the arrest warrant affidavit for Nelson. “When confronted about this behavior, [Springs] produced an item he claimed belonged to Dobson.” The boasting that evening at a friend’s house was a turning point in the fast-moving investigation into...

Arlington police have arrested and charged a 24-year-old man in connection with the fatal church attack that left a pastor dead and his assistant severely injured. Records show that Steven Lawayne Nelson, 24, was booked into the Arlington city jail Saturday afternoon. He was charged with capital murder. Authorities initially believed that Nelson was in Dallas but then they got word that he was headed back to his apartment in Arlington where he lived with his mother. Members of the U.S. Marshal’s fugitive task force were called in to help with taking him into custody. Earlier today, officials spotted someone...

ARLINGTON - Police are searching for a suspect or suspects after a 29-year-old pastor was found dead and his 67-year-old ministry assistant critically injured inside the NorthPointe Baptist Church in the 2200 block of Brown Boulevard in Arlington. Arlington officers found Pastor Clint Dobson dead and Judy Elliott severely beaten after receiving a call at about 4:15 p.m. Thursday. The caller had gone to the church after becoming concerned that no one could be reached. After looking into the window and seeing a motionless body on the floor, the person called the police. Elliott was transferred to John Peter Smith...

Arlington police are on the scene at NorthPointe Baptist Church on Brown Boulevard, where at least one person is dead and one is injured. Police responded to a call at the church about 4:15 p.m. NorthPointe is satellite campus of First Baptist Church in Arlington. According to WFAA's website, police said the suspect or suspects in the case may have fled the scene in the female victim's car, which was missing from the scene. The vehicle is a four-door, cream-colored 2007 Mitsubishi Galant. The license plate number is DFR-352. Police have asked that anyone who spots the car alert authorities...

A longtime northern Virginia political figure has decided to calls it quits. In an emotional speech on the Virginia Senate floor, Alexandria Democrat Patsy Ticer told her colleagues, "I have finally come to the end of the line." Ticer's 30th senate district covers Alexandria and parts of Arlington and Fairfax counties. She's been a fixture in local politics since 1982 when she was first elected to Alexandria's City Council. She became the city's first female mayor in 1991 and held that position until she was elected to the state Senate in 1995. As Alexandria mayor, Ticer helped lead the high...

(Updated at 10:35 a.m.) Arlington County has emerged victorious from its $1.5 million legal battle with the state over the plan to build High Occupancy Toll lanes on I-395. Virginia Transportation Secretary Sean Connaughton announced today that the state is no longer pursuing its I-395 HOT lanes plan, which the county blocked by filing suit in 2009. VDOT is also canceling plans to upgrade the Shirlington and Eads Street interchanges. Just hours before the project’s demise was first revealed by the Washington Post, County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman sent a five-page letter to two top Virginia lawmakers further explaining Arlington’s...

Some U.S. lawmakers want an Arlington National Cemetery burial for the controversial Laotian Hmong ex-general of a secret CIA-backed army that fought communism during the Vietnam War. Vang Pao, who died in California last week at age 81, commanded thousands of Hmong fighters in a covert U.S.-backed war against North Vietnamese and Laotian communists during the 1960s and '70s. His legendary skills at guerrilla warfare led some followers to see him as a minor deity.

The Arlington Chamber of Commerce wants to see a speedy end to the county's HOT lanes lawsuit, arguing that the cost of suing to stop the construction of high-occupancy toll lanes is damaging the county's reputation and hurting efforts to improve transportation on busy interstates. Chamber President Rich Doud said the lawsuit could undermine efforts to relieve traffic congestion in Arlington, damage the county's relationship with the private sector and drive up the HOT lanes project's cost as the lawsuit drags on. The chamber includes ending the lawsuit on its list of public policy priorities for 2011. The county spent...

Rochester, N.Y.- Staff Sergeant Javier Ortiz-Rivera called his boys his little Marines. He loved playing with them and teaching them how to salute and stand tall. The youngsters used those lessons to bid their father farewell. Wearing tiny Marine uniforms made especially for them, they saluted their father as he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Seventy family members and friends attended the service to honor Sergeant Ortiz-Rivera. It was his wish to be buried there. Family members say Javier sensed he was in danger weeks before he was killed in Afghanistan. In a letter dated the...

Thousands of volunteers will gather at Arlington National Cemetery tomorrow to participate in a solemn annual rite of remembrance. The Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, working in conjunction with Wreaths Across America, will donate approximately 20,000 Maine balsam fir holiday wreaths to be placed on graves on America's most hallowed ground. The wreath-laying activities will begin at 8:30 and continue with ceremonies throughout the morning. Approximately 5,000 people are expected to brave the cold to honor our country's veterans.This year, wreaths will be laid in sections 28, 38 and 43, three adjacent parcels near the northern edge of...

PORTLAND, Maine -- Tens of thousands of wreaths aboard 20 tractor-trailers in Maine are destined for Arlington National Cemetery and other sites.

Army launches probe over Arlington National Cemetery remainsBy Jade Walker – 1 hr 51 mins ago The U.S. Army has opened a criminal investigation at Arlington National Cemetery after the cremated remains of eight people were dumped into a single grave, The Washington Post reported. The urns were discovered last October in a grave site marked "Unknown," even though cemetery records showed that only one set of remains was to be buried there. Since then, Army investigators have positively identified three of the remains and notified the families, USA Today reported. Officials are still trying to identify the other remains....

W is throwing the first pitch shortly, what will the crowd reaction be? I'm thinking a long standing ovation. What do you think?

The FBI announced today that it has opened an investigation into three shootings that have occurred in Northern Virginia since October 17, 2010. Investigative evidence has confirmed that shots fired at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia, and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, involved a single weapon. Ballistics testing is underway for an overnight shooting that took place on October 25 or October 26 at the Marine Corps Recruiting Station in Chantilly, Virginia. The incident at the National Museum of the Marine Corps took place during the early morning hours on October 17, 2010. A similar...

A prominent Islamic scholar who has battled accusations of extremist beliefs has been arrested along with his wife on federal charges that they married other people to get U.S. citizenship. Ibrahim Abdelrahman Dremali and Safaa Rashad Eissa were arrested by immigration agents, Arlington police and the FBI on Oct. 6 on a warrant out of Des Moines, Iowa. They were released on their own recognizance after appearing before a federal judge in Fort Worth the same day. They are scheduled to enter pleas Nov. 12 in Iowa on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, which can carry

12, 2008 EXCLUSIVE: Who is Mohammed Al-Churbaji?:; Islamic Terrorist "Mr. Mom" Mohammed Al-Churbaji, Dad of Obama Fundraiser Worked for Azzam, Bin Laden * How hard it is to get rid of known terrorists in our midst and how easy it is for a deported Al-Qaeda terrorist to return to America; * How corrupt U.S. embassy officials get away with re-admitting terrorists into the U.S.; * How easily terrorists and their families gain acceptance by our society, including the Barack Obama Presidential campaign; * How America's universities are not tools of moderation for Muslim foreigners, but breeding grounds for terrorist fraternization...

CAIR Launches Islamophobia Dept. at Sold-Out BanquetMon Oct 11, 11:40 am ET WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization has announced the launch of a department devoted to addressing the alarming rise of Islamophobic sentiment in American society. The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) made that announcement at its 16th annual banquet on Saturday in Arlington, Va. Some 900 Muslim community members and activists, interfaith leaders and diplomats attended the sold-out banquet. CAIR said it exceeded its goals for fundraising at the banquet. Almost 300 Muslims from around the nation also attended...

On September 15, 2010 at around 0800 in the morning, a family makes their way into Arlington National Cemetery for the Disinterment of a Marine Private killed by an IED in Al Anbar Province Iraq on 22 November 2006 killing him and two others. As they stood at the grave site, a forklift arrives to raise a coffin from the vault that had interred it for nearly four years. Arlington knew at this point that the vault and coffin had been opened. When the family became aware of this action, an unsettling air of distrust settled upon the gathering. The...

ST. MARIES, Idaho -- Strangers are stepping up to help the widow of a north Idaho veteran who received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Vernon Baker died at his St. Maries home in July and will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1941, served and was wounded in World War II. Vernon was 90 years old.

Officials don't know what happened to more than $5 million that was supposed to buy a new technology system to automate burial records at Arlington National Cemetery. The money is spent, but the nation's cemetery for military killed in combat, veterans and their families continues to keep burial records for fallen soldiers on paper. After Thursday's Senate committee hearing to review contract mismanagement at Arlington National Cemetery, senators still have few answers on how, where and when the money was spent.

Estimates of the number of graves potentially affected by mix-ups at Arlington National Cemetery grew to as many as 6,600 today, as the cemetery’s former superintendent blamed his staff and a lack of resources for the scandal that forced his ouster.

Byrd to be buried at Arlington cemeteryBy ASSOCIATED PRESS Updated: 12:08 p.m. on Tuesday, July 6, 2010 ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Family, friends and employees paid last respects Tuesday to Sen. Robert C. Byrd. His casket was carried into Memorial Baptist Church in Arlington, Va., by a military honor guard, and a line formed for the late morning service in this Washington-area suburb. A single red rose, a spray of white ones and the twang of a bluegrass banjo were in the midst as mourners gathered inside a church. The 92-year-old Mr. Byrd, who died last week, was to be...

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2010 – The Army is taking every measure possible to fix the problems at Arlington National Cemetery, and it should continue to manage the nation’s “most hallowed ground,” Army Secretary John M. McHugh told a congressional committee today. The top two officials in charge of cemetery were disciplined earlier this month after an Army investigation found the cemetery’s management to be dysfunctional. “For 146 years, the Army has proudly served in the administration of this hallowed ground,” McHugh told the House Armed Services Committee. “Clearly, we lost that commitment and that record of success. I want to...

Neighbors of the Montclair couple accused of being Russian spies painted the woman as a friendly, involved mother who recently completed an MBA while her husband stayed at home and kept to himself. But they also questioned how helpful the couple could have been to the Russian government if they were indeed spies. Moscow sent Cynthia and Richard Murphy to infiltrate government circles — to befriend political movers and shakers, including a prominent New York financier with high-level political connections, officials said. But neighbors said the husband seemed to rarely leave the home — outside of walking the girls to...

<p>WASHINGTON — Ten Russian intelligence officers have been arrested for allegedly serving as illegal agents of the Russian government in the United States, the Justice Department announced Monday.</p>

WASHINGTON, June 22, 2010 – Officials at Arlington National Cemetery have established a special call center to address concerns worried family members may have about the potential mishandling of their loved ones’ remains. Family members with concerns can call 703-607-8199 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT. The call center opened June 11, a day after Army Secretary John M. McHugh announced the findings of a months-long investigation into the cemetery’s records management. The report noted at least 200 cases of improper internment of remains, including lost accountability for remains, names and graves listed as empty. More...

ARLINGTON, Va., June 18, 2010 – Unidentified remains of 14 fallen Air Force AC-130 gunship crewmembers were laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery here yesterday, nearly 40 years after their aircraft was shot down over southern Laos. Families observe as an Air Force honor guard folds the flag that draped a casket containing unidentified remains during a burial service at Arlington National Cemetery, June 17, 2010. The ceremony honored 14 airmen who were killed in March 1972 when their aircraft was shot down over southern Laos. DoD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

Of Lambs and Lions I do not fear an army of lions if they are led by a lamb. I do fear an army of sheep if they are led by a lion". Alexander the Great It is time for our monthly political assessment and this one is rather personal. Last month we addressed what is at stake, and the response was the future of America. One of the factors affecting our Country right now relates to Alexander's quote mentioned above. Attorney General Eric Holder once lamented that America is a "nation of cowards", that is far from the truth....

You haven’t been to America until you’ve walked the hillsides of Arlington. On the Virginia side of the Potomac, in the capital of our nation, where heroes lie row upon row. It is one of the most stirring and sacred places in our country. The despoiled farm of a Confederate general, hallowed by those buried in its soil, it is a place of the heart. Presidents are buried there, and generals and admirals, and the common soldiers and sailors of the last 150 years. The precision of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns, the green of the grass...

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2010 – The top two officials in charge of Arlington National Cemetery here were disciplined after an Army investigation found the cemetery’s management to be “dysfunctional,” Army Secretary John M. McHugh announced today at the Pentagon. Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh announces at a June 10, 2010, Pentagon press conference that in light of findings of inappropriate practices and mismanagement at Arlington National Cemetery, he is relieving the cemetery’s current superintendent and deputy superintendent of their duties and placing Kathryn Condon (right) in the newly created role of Executive Director of the Army National Cemeteries...

- June 10, 2010 Army Fires Top Two Administrators Over Mismanagement of Arlington Cemetery Army Secretary John McHugh has fired the top two officials overseeing Arlington National Cemetery over allegations of mismanagement, including burying a service member's body on top of another, Fox News has confirmed. fox news Army Secretary John McHugh has fired the top two officials overseeing Arlington National Cemetery over allegations of mismanagement, including burying a service member's body on top of another, Fox News has confirmed. McHugh will announce Thursday that he is replacing Arlington National's superintendent, John Metzler, and his deputy, Thurman Higgenbotham, who had...

WASHINGTON - A number of scandals at Arlington National Cemetery, including one in which a service member's body was buried on top of another, are costing the top two administrators their jobs, Pentagon officials said Thursday.

Came upon a picture over at Yahoo via Drudgereport, which IMHO, says it best about Memorial Day 2010 and each and every Memorial Day. It is picture number 121 and it is a of a mother, crying at the grave site of her son, then 19-years-old son, Eric Ward at Arlington National Cemetary in Washington D.C. It touched my heart very deeply.

So what the hell do these conservatives want out of Obama? And does it matter if Obama throws some leaves on a tomb? --David Corn ............................... Memorial Day. Those of us old enough to remember might recall a parent or grandparent who referred to it as “Decoration Day.” We might recall as well that “Memorial Day,” was not on the last Monday in May, serving as an endcap for a three day weekend of sales and vacations, but instead was observed on May 30, no matter what day of the week that was. It started shortly after the Civil War...

Joyce Johnson remembers the drums beating slowly as she walked with her girls from the Old Post Chapel, behind the horse-drawn caisson carrying the flag-draped casket of her husband....She remembers struggling to maintain her composure...And then a lady stepped forward, a stranger, dressed not in uniform but in a simple dark suit. She whispered a few words and pressed two cards into Johnson's hands. "If there is anything you need ..." [Johnson] would learn of their mission: to ensure no soldier is buried alone.