Free Republic

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....