If you go here, to this outdoor ampitheater in the middle of Arlington Cemetery (pictured above) on Memorial Day of any given year, you will hear the President of the United States speak. You can't find that information anywhere online, on the news, or in any other form of announcement, but he's always there. It would be un-presidential not to be there now, I suppose.
Two years ago (see
here, back when our posts were short and sweet and mostly sarcastic), when we were just weeks freshly married, we had heard the presidential rumors, and since I missed it the year before with my roomies while I was living in DC for an internship, I was bound and determined to not miss the chance again. So Jon and I joined the metro masses, swarmed through Arlington Cemetery, were saved by my cute roomie Kami and all her roommates who guarded a spot for us, and slipped onto the last shuttle of the day that would make it to the ampitheater. It was blazing hot, but well worth the sweat and the wait to hear President Bush speak to commemorate the soldiers and motivate us to fight against tyranny, as was his staple speech. It was an excellent address and fitting for the day.
We passed on the chance last year and opted for the church pancake breakfast route instead, but this year we thought it might be fun to sneak a peak at the new superstar president. The last words I would use to describe our blog would be political forum or anything like unto it, but regardless of your party, I daresay it's always an exciting thing to see the president. He was normal, he was well-attended and well-versed, and while nothing was over-the-top phenomenal, we were impressed just as we had been 2 years ago. That's one tough job description (being president), and I'm glad people are willing to fill it.
Van missed most of the speech, but I'll let him miss anything if he looks this cute while he does it.
The man of the hour. President Obama. (we have no zoom lens, so this is a pretty pathetic view)
Flag wavers just don't come cuter than that!
Oh how I love this photo...
Please remember, "he's very oral," not unpatriotic.
a typical Christian Arlington Cemetery headstone:
a Mormon Arlington Cemetery headstone: (Jon's pro at finding these)
(learn more about Angel Moroni by searching on lds.org)
President Obama mentioned "Section 60" several times in his address, and Jon and I weren't sure what was so significant about it, but felt due to Obama's frequent references to it we should check it out. We quickly realized that it is where the newest casualties from the war have been buried. The site was covered with flowers and flooded with friends and family members of soldiers whose lives were lost, and whose stories must be painfully recent.
I had a few moments to observe some of the families as Van drank his bottle and Jon quietly walked around taking photos. Their sacrifices seemed so suddenly real to me, yet so unbelievable at the same time. I couldn't imagine what it must be like for these mothers, wives, fathers, brothers...they sat around telling stories of where they were when they found out, the premonitions they had the day before. My heart broke for them.
As I was idly standing by, a small group of soldiers in uniform came to a specific grave area, and upon seeing families there, they introduced themselves as those who had served with their son. They expressed their gratitude to serve with him, and their sadness for losing him. For the first time, I think I had a glimpse of what Memorial Day really encompasses––or what it should encompass. It made me want to hold Jon a little tighter that night. And check on Van more than the usual one time before I go to bed. It made me grateful.
My heart goes out to those families, and to the men and women in combat for our nation now. What sacrifices they make!
Yet for Van, the outing ended the same way it began...
