Free Republic

"It is requested that everyone maintains a level of silence and respect",says the soldier as he stops in stance and demands silence from a disrespectful crowd w/ rifle out front. You could have heard a dime drop that day. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c59_1320722129

I spent my final few months in the Army as the NCO in charge of military funerals. For those that don’t know, our veterans have the option of having full military honors at their funerals. This entails the famous 21 Gun Salute, military pallbearers, and of course the flag draped coffin which is folded graveside and presented to the family. This was probably the toughest assignment I had during my five years of Army service. Supervising the details of the funeral wasn’t what was hard – what was hard was presenting the flag to the grieving family. As a veteran,...

"Arlington National Cemetery became the nation's most hallowed burial ground when a Union officer decided in 1861 that the best place to inter Civil War dead was on the grounds of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's plantation, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.".... ...."Now there is Section 60, the area set aside for servicemen and women who have died serving in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past decade. It's on the outskirts of the cemetery, among tombstones rarely seen by visitors. They lie far from the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns, outside of...

<p>Fox News has just reported that a suspect connected with the suspicious parked car at the Pentagon is a Marine Lance Corporal Reservist. The police have described him as "a derranged man," but do not think he is part of a terrorist group. The guy is 22/23 years old, an African American, and a muslim.</p>

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.

On Monday, the nation honored Col. William M. Bower, the last surviving pilot of the April 18, 1942, Doolittle Raid, the risky surprise attack on the Japanese home islands that bolstered American morale in the early, tragic months of World War II. Col. Bower died Jan. 10 at age 93 and was laid to rest Monday at Arlington National Cemetery. The Doolittle Raid was one of the gutsiest calls ever made by a president. Shortly after the Dec. 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a directive that the United States hit the Japanese homeland as soon as...

The US Army has rejected a request for ethnic Hmong leader Vang Pao to be buried with full military honours in Arlington National Cemetery. Gen Pao led a 15-year CIA-sponsored secret war in Laos during the Vietnam War and, when it was lost, led tens of thousands of his people into exile. He died last month. The army's decision came as mourners attended the first day of a six-day funeral in California. Gen Pao's friends said they would appeal to the White House. "Obviously to everyone who is here today to honour Gen Vang Pao, this is very disappointing," said...

Lance Cpl. Terry Honeycutt, a 19-year-old, was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan in late October. The funeral will begin at 10 a.m. Monday at New Life Church in La Plata. Phelps-Roper said she plans to picket from 9:15 a.m. to the start of the service with a group of six to seven members of the Westboro Baptist Church. The Honeycutt family was made aware of the planned protest via Facebook on Friday, but Terry’s mother Christine is not concerned about the picketers. “We kind of expected it,” she said. “We’ve seen it before and read about,...

People ask why we counter Westboro “Baptist” Church, why not just let them be the proverbial “If a tree falls in a forest and no hears it, did it fall”? BELOW is why we counter them. FReepers, students, patriots and Veteran Harley riders (about 50) defended our Fallen Heroes this Veterans Day at Arlington Cemetery. We came by the dozens and overwhelmed Fred Phelps’ one-branch family tree called Westboro “Baptist” Church. They started the morning with about a dozen miscreants. Two hours later when they left, only 3 had stayed around. A special thanks to those who took their shift...

VETERANS DAY, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 8AM TILL NOON Westboro Baptist Church, aka Fred Phelp's one-branch family tree, is once again targeting Arlington Cemetery. WBC will be there on Veterans Day, Thursday, Nov. 11, to protest our fallen heroes. We will be there from 8AM (to start setting up) till noon to be sure our patriotic message is seen long after WBC leaves. WBC will be there from 9 till 11AM The DC Chapter will have our Walter Reed MOAB, flags, banners, posters, patriotic music, HOT COFFEE, and light snacks. Our past 4 times opposite WBC have been at the Arlington...

The DC Chapter started gathering at 3:30, unloading flags, banners, signs and a sound system. We expected Westboro Baptist Church to arrive at 4:30 but they arrived at 4. We responded by setting up quicker. DC Chapter members were Lurker Bill, Cindy_True_Supporter, GunsAreOK, RongKirby, [Mrs] Trooprally and myself. We were joined by a mother and her two kids who were walking by, 5 other patriots who heard about our rally, 3 Marine wives from Quantico, a guy in a wheel chair, and 6 Vietnam Vets on their Harleys. They did not claim to be part of Rolling Thunder or Patriot...

Westboro Church has Arlington Cemetery in their sites on Tuesday, October 5,2010, 4:30 - 5:30PM. The DC Chapter is working on a permit to show our support for our fallen heroes and to counter the one-branch family tree called Phelps. We will be getting our permit from 3:30 - 6:30PM. In the past Phelps has permitted right outside Metro's Blue Line entrance. Until further notice that is where we will be. We will be keeping an eye on Westboro's schedule since they do change their schedule. Best way to get to Arlington Cemetery is to take the Metro blue line...

Before a small group of family and friends, the remains of World War I United States Marine First Sergeant George H. Humphrey were buried at Arlington National Cemetery on June 23, 2010. He received full military honors. Humphrey went Missing In Action on September 15, 1918, while leading the first United States attack of the war against the Germans, under the direction of General John J. Pershing. The battle was later recognized as the St. Mihiel Offensive. During this combat, 7,000 allies died. Consequently, this war coined the phrase "D-Day," and was the first time American units used tanks. First...

After 19 years of service as Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery, John C. Metzler, Jr. will retire effective Friday, July 2, 2010, due to an ongoing investigation of gross "mismanagement," involving the misplacement of graves, unidentified bodies and sloppy record-keeping at the cemetery. Mr. Metzler first came to Arlington National Cemetery in 1951, as a young boy (age 4), when his father, John C. Metzler, Sr. became the Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery. John C. Metzler, Sr. was ANC's Superintendent from 1951 to 1972. John Metzler, Sr. passed away in May 1990. Growing up at Arlington National Cemetery gave John...

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...

- 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, 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...

In less than 3 minutes last night on CBS's 60 Minutes, commentator Andy Rooney essentially negated the enormous personal sacrifice of countless men and women who gave their lives for their country. Rooney's Memorial Day commentary was nothing more than a hit-piece that minimized the nature of the sacrifice of Patriots--the notion that freedom is not free, and that freedom is worth dying for if necessary. While giving a nod to those who died in war, Rooney stated that, 'They did not give their lives. Life was taken from them.' In a sense, of course, he is right. Soldiers do...

Memorial Day 2010 A day early, but I want to share some thoughts and posts from others for Memorial Day… Our soldiers represent all that is good and brave about America. In some ways, I feel they are the soul of our country. The selflessness, the sacrifice, the courage are all components of what is best in America. They don’t shy from their duties or responsibilities. They don’t whine or complain or blame their woes on the last president who held office. They don’t vacation when they are needed by those who are in trouble – soldiers answer the call...

A Memorial To Serve A Family For A Lifetime by Jo Dermody NOTE from Dan Zanoza, RFFM.org's Executive Director: The following is the final installment in RFFM's three-part series in honor of Memorial Day. The essay was first posted on February 25, 2010. Mrs. Dermody wrote this response after reading an RFFM.org column titled, "Arlington National Cemetery's Old Guard: Not All of Washington, D.C. Shut Down During Snow Storm" by Lyle J. Rapacki http://rffm.typepad.com/republicans_for_fair_medi/2010/02/arlington-cemetery-honor-guard-not-all-of-washington-dcshut-down-during-snow-storm-by-lyle-j-rapacki.html. Mrs. Dermody gives a poignant and touching description of her husband's (Major John Dermody, USMC Retired) burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Though John Dermody does not...

Obama will be on vacation in Chicago this Memorial Day, instead of presiding over Memorial Day ceremonies at Arlington. This may be the first time since the Civil War that a president will not pay respect to the veterans passed.

I tried to watch at Foxlive but the link didn't work. Thanks

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2010 – Afghan President Hamid Karzai, flanked by America’s top defense leaders, walked among the white marble tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery today, a silent tribute to U.S. servicemembers who made the ultimate sacrifice, many while battling terrorism in Afghanistan.Video Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, right, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and John C. Metzler Jr., superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery, tour the cemetery's Section 60, in Arlington, Va., May 13, 2010. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates; Navy Adm. Mike...

We heard that Phelps’ demon clan was to be at Arlington Cemetery on Sunday so we quickly amended our Saturday permit to include Sunday. Some of the Gathering of Eagles members who were in town Saturday to keep watch over our Military Memorials joined the DC Chapter. We were pleasantly surprised to see some of Arlington’s Old Guard joining us. And they were pleased to see us. While the Old Guard could not hold any signs their presence was very noticeable and welcomed. BELOW LEFT: Old Guard before Phelps showed up. BELOW LEFT: Photo Op. Concretebob is hiding but if...

While most patriots were at the Capitol’s Tea Party this Saturday, Gathering of Eagles was keeping watch over our Military Memorials and FReeRepublic was holding a Support Our Troops Rally at Memorial Circle. This weekend’s Troop Support Rally started on March 17,2007 with GoE I. In 2007, [Mrs] T’s pic HERE, the weather was cold (upper 30s), wet (it rained all day Friday and we had a mix of snow and freezing rain at the Friday Night Walter Reed Rally), and windy (20-25MPH, and higher as one crossed the Memorial Bridge). This year we had low 70s and sun. We...

American Hater and Troop Hater Fred Phelps and his demon inbred family will be protesting at Arlington Cemetery this Sunday. The DC Chapter has amended its Saturday Permit to include Sunday. We will be there 30 minutes before they arrive till after they leave. DATE: Sunday, March 21 TIME: 10:30AM till 12:15PM LOCATION: Memorial Drive opposite the Arlington Cemetery metro station (Blue Line) The DC Chapter will bring the MOAB, flags and signs supporting out military. Hopefully those who are coming from out-of-town for Saturday's Support the Troops Rally can delay the ride home for a few hours. Phelps will...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Lyle J Rapacki is a frequent contributor to RFFM.org. Rapacki is an independent intelligence analyst who receives and disseminates critical intelligence and policy information for and to law enforcement, intelligence and homeland security officials and operatives, and government and community leaders. He is the author of dozens of white papers, bulletins and briefings, and is frequently called on to share his expertise with public and private security directors and organizations. Not all of Washington, D.C. was shut-down recently because of snow. At the Tomb of the Unknowns, members of "The Old Guard" continued to walk post; just like...

PROTECT THE SANCTITY OF ARLINGTON CEMETERY, Saturday, March 20,2010 - Notice #2 Some changes since the November notice was first posted. First, we will still have a presence at Arlington Cemetery Memorial circle. More later in this thread. The moonbats have change their abnormal plans from years past. This year they appear to be eliminating their march to the Pentagon. They plan on staying in D.C. to protest Obama’s handling of foreign affairs, from Afghanistan to Iraq to Haiti. But they have not yet mentioned any times or particulars. Either way, we’ll be in the Circle. If you want read...

A stronger blast, a little less luck, and the horse that Marine Sgt. Michael Blair is riding down an Arlington County trail could easily be pulling his coffin. "It's an honor riding these horses, knowing what they do," he said. The horses that Blair rides in a rehabilitation program for wounded service members also pull the caissons that carry fallen troops for burial at Arlington National Cemetery. At times, Blair rides them along the same road, turning and heading back to the barn before reaching the cemetery. ~snip~ [photo gallery at link]

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2009 – The Arlington Wreath Project, an unofficial national tradition, prompted about 6,000 volunteers to wake up extra early this morning to help place 16,000 wreaths on graves at Arlington National Cemetery. "It's really nice that America still remembers our troops," said Nikki Bunting, the widow of Army Capt. Brian Bunting, who died in Afghanistan in February 2009. She visited her husband's grave with their children, 2-year-old Connor and 5-week-old Cooper. “It's a sad sight, but it's really beautiful. It reminds us that people care,” she said. Morrill Worcester, president of Maine-based Worcester Wreath Company, started the...

Pfc. De'Angello Robinson, 19, traveled seven hours by bus to place a single wreath on the tomb of a soldier whom he'd never met. For him, and the other Marines who took the trip from Camp Johnson in Jacksonville, N.C. to Arlington National Cemetery to decorate graves, the day was about paying tribute to men and women who once stood in their shoes. "In a few months, from where we are getting shipped out, this could be us," said Robinson of the fallen soldiers. "If it is us, I would want somebody to do the same for me so I'm...

He didn't introduce himself. He didn't have to. President Obama simply stuck out his hand and asked for my name as he stepped toward me amid a bone-chilling drizzle in the Gardens of Stone. This was Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery. I wasn't there as a reporter, but to visit some friends and family buried there when Obama made an unscheduled stop - a rare presidential walk among what Lincoln called America's "honored dead" - after laying a Veterans Day wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. What I got was an unexpected look into the eyes of a...

Veterans listen to U.S. President Barack Obama speak during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia November 11, 2009. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES POLITICS MILITARY IMAGES OF THE DAY)

“People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” George Orwell Veteran’s Day is a time to remember “All gave some….Some gave all.”Before reaching the new gravestones in Arlington National Cemetery’s ‘Section 60’ it’s easy to recognize why a simple, quilted, patch of green grass and white stones buried alongside the quiet banks of the Potomac River troubles the heart.Names etched into fresh marble tell the sad tale of early death …Travis L. Youngblood…. Justin Ray Davis….Andy D. Anderson….Thomas J. Barbieri Jr….. Kenneth E. Zeigler II….James R. McIlvaine …....

<p>Barack Obama's speech commemorating Veterans Day at Arlinton Cemetery this morning was received with stony silence by those in attendance.</p> <p>What should have been applause lines for Obama about caring for our veterans drew no cheers, no clapping and no 'hooahs'.</p>

The fight over Robert E. Lee's beloved home—seized by the U.S. government during the Civil War—went on for decades Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/The-Battle-of-Arlington.html#ixzz0UvYZZAfo

September 15th -October 15th is Hispanic History Month.

Mourners gather at the coffin of Sen. Edward Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. Kennedy, 77, died Tuesday, Aug. 25 more than a year after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Here is a CNN report showing the location in Arlington National Cemetery where Sen. Ted Kennedy is being buried today. He will be buried near the graves of his two brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert Kennedy - both of whom were assassinated. The hillside location looking out over he cemetery and toward the Lincoln Memorial is where President John Kennedy stood just shortly before his assassination and said, "I could stay here forever." . . . . . (Watch Video)

Wednesday, August 26, 2009; 4:31 PM Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the political patriarch who died late Tuesday after a 15-month battle with brain cancer, will be buried Saturday at Arlington National Cemetery, close to the famed gravesites of his slain brothers. As tributes poured in Wednesday from across the country and the world, Washington mourned the Massachusetts Democrat whose outsize personality and political skills continued to drive the health-care debate even in his final days. Flags were ordered flown at half-staff at the U.S. Capitol, the White House and federal buildings. Across the Potomac River at the nation's military cemetery,...

Just heard on noon news that Kennedy will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. What an insult to our troops!

A U.S. defense official confirms that the late Ted Kennedy will be buried at Arlington Cemetery -- date and time still TBD. The official expects he will be buried at the John F. Kennedy gravesite, but that is also still TBD. Any sitting or former senator is eligible for burial at Arlington Cemetery, but Kennedy's military service alone does not qualify him for burial there since he did not retire from the Armed Forces. His military service alone only qualifies him to be cremated and inurned at the Columbarium at Arlington

The families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are being told to wait -- sometimes two months -- until their loved ones can be buried with full honors in Arlington National Cemetery. The hallowed memorial site, which handles up to 27 burials a day, is so overwhelmed with the bodies of elderly veterans and young soldiers that families are told they'll have to go without full-honors ceremonies if they want a timely burial, according to a spokesman.

July 17, 2009 | A few days after Memorial Day, I walked across the sprawling, plush lawn of Arlington National Cemetery. I headed toward Section 60, a remote area of the famous burial ground, where 600 service members from Iraq and Afghanistan are laid to rest. Gina Gray, former public affairs officer at the cemetery, had testified that mismanagement at Arlington had resulted in callous treatment of personal mementos and artifacts left on grave sites in Section 60. The sun was out after several days of rain. As I approached the gravestones, I saw that Gray was right. Left out...

President Barack Obama lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during Memorial Day commemorations at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., May 25, 2009. DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeleyI yearn to be able to respect a president I have political differences with. To be able to find common ground as fellow Americans and on occasions such as Memorial Day, out of respect for the office of the presidency, applaud his speech and say, "Well done, Mr. President; well done! We may differ politically, but today I stand with you!" So why am...

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama avoided a racial controversy on his first Memorial Day in office by sending wreaths to separate memorials for Confederate soldiers and for blacks who fought against them during the Civil War. Last week, a group of about 60 professors petitioned the White House, asking the first black U.S. president to break tradition and not memorialize military members from the Confederacy, the group of Southern states that supported slavery. "The Arlington Confederate Monument is a denial of the wrong committed against African-Americans by slave owners, Confederates and neo-Confederates, through the monument's denial of slavery as...

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2009 – More than 3,000 servicemembers officially kicked off the Memorial Day commemoration last evening as they placed more than 250,000 miniature flags at every grave at Arlington National Cemetery. Airman Jacob Proffer, a member of the Air Force Honor Guard, pauses to salute a grave after placing a miniature flag at its base during the “Flags In” tribute at Arlington National Cemetery, May 21, 2009. “When I do this, it makes me take a lot more pride every time I put on my uniform, seeing the measure of sacrifice so many have made,” he said....

 Photo credit: Marooned in Marin It's been six years since President Bush launched an attack on - not Iraq, not Bagdad, not a country and its people, but - Saddam Hussein -- Saddam Hussein and; those who would attack the U.S. And on this anniversary day, Brian Becker, Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (A.N.S.W.E.R.) or cANSWER ("CANCER") as we like to call it, organized his scruffy, useless, parasitic contingent to march on Washington once again. The DC Chapter has been there each time to counter protest. In the early years, cANSWER was able round up great...

A.N.S.W.E.R. will be in D.C. once again this March 21, 2009 for their march on the Pentagon. Gathering of Eagles/Eagle Up will already have Eagles watching over the various Military Monuments and recruiter stations. If you want to help in this endeavor, contact concretebob. But if you want to help protect the sanctity of Arlington Cemetery, we will be there. FreeRepublic, along with any one who will join us, will once again occupy an area on the Virginia side of the Memorial Bridge on the south side of Arlington Circle. DATE: Saturday, March 21 TIME: 11:30AM to 4PM PLACE: South...

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, Va., Aug. 25, 2008 – It started as a leap of faith, but more than 10 million steps later, a 10-man relay team arrived here, at what the memorial run’s organizer called the most sacred place in America. Shannon Cleary, center, kisses her mother, Marianne Cleary, Aug. 24, 2008, during the last few moments of Run for the Fallen, a memorial run in memory of Cleary's brother, Army 1st Lt. Michael Cleary. Jack Flanagan, Marianne’s grandson, also participated in the last day of the living memorial that began June 14, outside the gates of Fort Irwin,...