I’d like to share a few posts from a football message board regarding Memorial Day (these posts were made on an around the US Memorial Day Holiday in 2007) and burials in Arlington National Cemetery:

1. I  recently layed my father to rest in Arlinton. I have to say It was the first and I can only hope the last military funeral I have ever been to. But what a true honor it was to be there and experience such a thing. They truly do not forget a man’s service for his country and make every effort to make the families comfortable.

It was quit sobering to hear taps and the 21 gun salute as many times as we did during our service throughout the grounds.

I have to admit prior to this weekend memorial day was a day for remembrance for me but it was also a extra day off from work and grill out and what not. But now its a lot more than that not just becauce of my dad but all of the men and women who we have all lost.

2. Arlington is a very special place, and your Dad now rests in his rightful place among the other heroes.

3. Military burials are extremely emotional. Never experienced a burial at Arlington but my father & Grandfather were both buried at Calverton National Cemetery (as I will be eventually) and the playing of Taps & the presentation of the Flag to the family (my mother in both cases) were the toughest things to handle. Besides being present when both of them passed away those were by far the most emotional situations I ever had to deal with.

4. As a former soldier and member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry “The Old Guard” based at Ft. Myer, Arlington, VA … some of my duties included marching as part of a military escort/marching platoon (dress blues with almost razor-sharp creases, highly polished brass, etc.) for military burials “with honors” at Arlington National Cemetary.

After going through several burials it became pretty routine (almost as if it were like you had iced water running through your veins … basically you were totally focused on performing all of your rifle drill and ceremonial movements with near perfection). Besides, as part of the honor guard you cannot move, glance around, or hardly breathe let alone show/display any emotions.

It was an interesting, honorable, and memorable experience for me to have been a member of the Army’s most prestigious and elite ceremonial unit.

I wish all of the other veterans and active service members alike a very happy and safe Memorial Day!!! May those who served and paid with their lives while protecting the sovereignty and national interests of this great, great country … never be forgotten!!!

5. My grandfather was a SGT in the Air Force during WWII and wow what a service they put on for him in Aug of 2004. I honestly felt like my grandfather was an ex president of the US the way my grandfather and our family were treated during the ceremony. The gun salute and all. It was truly breath taking. Glad to hear your father received the same treatment.

Hart Island is said to be a ghost town with an abandoned church, asylum, and military base. The military base has Nike missile silos left over from the late 50’s and the cold war. These missiles were supposed to shoot Soviet ICBMs out of the sky before they landed in New York City.

But it’s not the abandoned military base that really qualifies Hart Island as a grief tourist destination. That distinction belongs to Potter’s Field.

Potter’s Field on Hart Island has been the burial place for New York’s unclaimed dead bodies since 1869. There are now over 700,000 bodies on Hart Island. This cemetery is unlike more famous and touristy cemeteries:

There are no ceremonies for the dead here on Hart Island.  Inmates from Riker’s Island are assigned burial detail and are ferried over to do the work.  Coffins are stacked beneath the ground–3 high, 10 across, 5 rows deep, between each of the white grave markers–crowding 150 adult bodies into each marked square.  Infant’s coffins are stacked in trenches and buried.

Then again, we see grief tourism so often. For example, The Freedom Museum in Chicago, a very mainstream tourism spot “contains stone pieces of historical significance from the Great Wall of China, the Alamo, the White House, the World Trade Center, and the Berlin Wall.”

Chicago also has the Abraham Lincoln Civil War tour which includes Stephen Douglas’ tomb and memorial along with other significant sites.

You’ve got Rome, where Caesar was assassinated. You’ve got Dallas where there’s a famous grassy knoll on the north side of Elm Street and John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza. Then there’s Washington D.C. where you can see a play at Ford’s Theatre, the Lincoln Memorial, and the National Museum of Health and Medicine (to see the .44 caliber bullet which was removed from Lincoln’s head, plus a skull fragments from Honest Abe). And there’s New York City’s Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park in memory of John Lennon who was shot nearby outside the Dakota building.

The week of mourning began on June 7 when the casket was moved from the funeral home to the lobby of the Reagan Presidential Library at Simi Valley.  Two days later, it was flown to Washington, D.C., where world and religious leaders attended official funeral services, wreaths were laid, and eulogies were given.  Subsequently, the viewing was opened to the public and an incredible 200,000 or more came to pay their respects and be a part of history.  On June11, following the official proclamation of mourning, the funeral procession began its long journey down Constitution Avenue to the Capitol Rotunda.  While crowds of people, his supporters, his critics, his allies, and his enemies lined the streets, the media reveled in the pomp and tradition of this grandiose production.  This time there were no vociferous protests against Reagan’s eternal optimism and conservative politics, but a somber silence as people seemed unabashed in their sentimentality or momentary grief.  Someone in the crowd commented, “I didn’t know he had died, until I bought the commemorative newspaper.”  Sadly enough, many others did not know or even care, but in a strange characteristic of human nature, their curiosity aroused, rushed for a chance to say goodbye. 

After the official state funeral service at the Washington Cathedral, attended by 4,000 invitees, the casket was flown on Air Force One to California and carried in a 25-mile motorcade for interment at the Reagan Memorial Library.  A smaller group of about 700 people, family, close friends, and a number of Hollywood celebrities gathered at the mortuary for the Friday sunset service.  The outdoor fountain was covered with flowers, candles, teddy bears, old photographs, and jars of jellybeans.  While photographers took close-ups of Ronnie’s Tinseltown friends, some recall the humor in his words “How can a president not be an actor?” 

It is always interesting to note that the birthplace of famous people is seldom visited or even recognized as being more than a small dot on the map until their death.  Today, however, Dixon has become famous and now there are three presidents from Illinois to add even more interest and sightseeing attraction to grief tourism.  With the death of Reagan, part of the Interstate Hwy 88 was named the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway, in an effort to attract more visitors to the area.  Today more than 350 arrive each day to visit Tampico, the boyhood home of “Dutch” Reagan, the high school football star.  Just as many visit the Peace Garden memorial at his alma mater, Eureka College, more than likely to view a piece of the Berlin Wall.  Numerous notable landmarks and memorials, highways, exhibits, institutions, airports, and public and government buildings have been named in his honor.

More than one million people have visited The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California since its opening in 1991.  Open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day, admission is $12.00 for ages 16 – 61;  $9.00 for 62 and over; $3.00 for 11-17, and under 11 free.  The Library has an extensive research collection that includes the years of his presidency, governorship, and acting career; DVDs of the funeral procession, election materials, and speeches.  There is a shorter recording of the highlights of his many accomplishments through the years, narrated by the President himself, including those private moments on Air Force One and treasured photos of home and family.  The Air Force One Pavilion, connected to the Presidential Library by a replica of the White House Rose Garden, represents a tribute to his achievements as a great communicator and promoter of peace around the world.

It is not for us to question the dramatization or the choreography of the final scene, but to reflect upon the man himself, his humor, and his down-to-earth appeal for many of us.  Whether our visits are prompted by grief, nostalgia, or nothing more than morbid curiosity, it is worthwhile to reflect upon the words he wrote for his own epitaph “I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph and there is purpose and worth to each and every life.” 
Sharon L. Slayton

Immediately after the battle, relatives and friends on the Union side were allowed permission to search for their loved ones; yet, the invitation was not extended to the defeated South.  A few years later, in an effort to bring in tourism, the railroad was extended from nearby major cities and a casino, photography studio, and dance pavilion were built upon the sacred ground.  Overrun by pleasure-seeking tourists, out for a good time, Gettysburg soon fell prey to the prostitutes and the gamblers, the vendors and the barkeepers, each seeking to profit from the tourist trade.  The past, after all, was the past and there was money to be made.  The automobile made it just that much easier and quicker to reach Gettysburg, a chance to get out of the city for a few days.

Through the ongoing efforts of veterans, private citizens, and a few concerned public officials, the preservation of Gettysburg slowly took shape.  Today, there are over 1,600 monuments, plaques, and memorials on the battlefield, the majority of which are in honor of the Union army.  In reality, this over abundance of memorials seems to lose their significance when one considers that the entire battlefield is in itself a memorial.  In 1895, President Cleveland established Gettysburg National Military Park, which is now preserved and maintained by the U.S. Department of the Interior.  For a while, the veterans of the Civil War frequently returned to Gettysburg, to express their grief and sorrow for the tragedy, but in time, there were few, and then ultimately, no survivors remained.  The 50th anniversary, which included a reenactment of “Pickett’s Charge,” was a reunion of 40,00 veterans and by 1938, only 1,845 of the 8,000 survivors were able to attend the reunion.  Of these, only 65 had actually fought at the Battle of Gettysburg.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt honored this reunion with the lighting of the eternal flame at the National Peace Memorial on Oak Hill.  Tourism to Gettysburg was revived again in the late 1950’s and the 60’s, as families and tourists took to the road, hoping to recapture one of America’s greatest moments.

Today, Gettysburg, the site of two historic landmarks, Gettysburg National Military Park and the Gettysburg National Cemetery, draws over two million tourists a year, eager for variety and a chance to be entertained.  As we drive through the 6,000 acres of sacred ground, now alive and green, the air is filled with the sounds of music and laughter, replacing the once pungent odor and grey smoke of gunpowder and the battle cries of victory and defeat.  While children fight imaginary battles wearing Union and Confederate caps and wave tiny flags on Cemetery Ridge and Little Round Top, adults browse through the bookstore picking up a few of the numerous items for sale including audio-visual recordings, maps, books, games, and collectibles to take back home.  A few moments of reflection, perhaps, on the sacrifices and the purpose of Gettysburg, and visitors are happy to return to the comfort of their homes or nearby accommodations at the end of a hot summer day. 
 
Entrance fees to the Park are free and the grounds and roads are open from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., November 1st – March 31st.  The Gettysburg National Cemetery is open from dawn until sunset and the Park buildings are closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.  Tourists begin their visit at the National Park Service Visitor Center, with an “Electric Map,” which provides a 30-minute orientation on the three days of the battle, including commentary on the primary participants.  Fees for the presentation are $4.00 for adults (ages 17-61), $3.00 for children (ages – 6-16), and $3.00 (seniors, 62 and over).  Children under 6 are free and group rates are $3.00 for adults.  The Museum at the Visitor Center has the George Rosensteel collection of uniforms, artifacts, and weapons from the Civil War.  The Cyclorama, a 360-foot long panoramic painting by Paul Philippoteaux depicting the famous “Pickett’s Charge” and the end of the battle, is being restored and scheduled to reopen in 2008.

Edward Everett’s Gettysburg Oration on November 19, 1863 carries little significance in history, but the words might well be contemplated as we visit the sacred ground ” no lapse of time, no distance of space, shall cause you to be forgotten. ”  A pilgrimage to Gettysburg seems to be a part of the American way of life, a powerful ritual that must be observed.  The fascination of Gettysburg lies not so much in its historical significance, but in its escapism and excessive commercialism.  While historians and writers examine and reconstruct the battle scene and others reenact the events in elaborate period costumes, tourists arrive by the carload for a chance to “play” at war.  In this curious compulsion and fanfare of tourism, we can only hope that this battlefield will be remembered, as it should be, as a sacred “sepulchre of illustrious men.”

Sharon L. Slayton

Some of the most dangerous and incorrigible criminals in history such as Al Capone, Henry Young, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, and Robert Stroud, “The Birdman of Alcatraz,” spent time for crimes of espionage, kidnapping, murder, and robbery.  For prisoners, the ferry to Alcatraz was the end of the line, a one-way trip for which there would be no return, a descent into what has been described as a “hell hole” to await their fate.  Although many escape attempts were made, none have been documented as successful.  Five prisoners from Alcatraz, however, still remain unaccounted for and are presumed drowned.

Today, tourists, spurred on by the media, the movies, the books, and the history, flock to Alcatraz in huge numbers by the boatloads.  Over one million curious thrill seekers visit Alcatraz each year, certainly not for pleasure and probably with no significant grief or sadness.  Tickets for all-day tours to Alcatraz, including side trips to Sausalito and the Muir Woods, sell for $68.95 for adults, $47.95 for children, ages 5 to 11, and under 5 are free.  The tour includes a short 10-minute ferry ride, free admission to the park and the museum, and a walk around the island.  Other day and evening excursions to Alcatraz are available, as well, ranging in price from $16.00 and up, leaving daily at 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., from Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco.

Visitors take a virtual tour of “the Rock” via slide shows, sound clips, videos, and pictures.  There is an eerie feeling of the unforeseen upon arriving at Alcatraz and stepping off the ferry onto the same dock as the prisoners walked.  Immediately opposite the dock, the old barracks building now houses a theater, bookstore, and numerous exhibits within its 10-foot brick walls.  The Guard Tower, with six towers manned at one time by armed guards, has been restored.  Audio headsets are provided for the tour through the Cell Block.  The halls, once filled with the sounds of clanking chains and shackles, are empty and dark.  We see no prisoners reaching out from between the steel bars nor do we hear their cries of anger and pain.  We shudder at the thought of voices echoing from the walls, and yet, we are caught between guilt for feeling empathy and the reality of the evils that once existed.  Leaving the gloom and dark of the Cell Block, we are eager to feel the freshness of outdoors.  The walk along the Agave Trail takes us through the beautiful bird sanctuary and lovely gardens, now flourishing in the California sunshine, and we pause to take in the amazing views across the Bay. 

Alcatraz tours include free entrance to the museum, the bookstore, and walks around the island.  The museum houses a collection of items including artwork and objects made by its notorious inmates, historic photographs, documents, and prison materials from 1859 to the 1969 -1971 occupation by the American Indians of all Tribes.  All types of souvenirs are available in the bookstore, including books, mugs, keys, t-shirts, and even packages of greeting cards.

Returning from one of the Golden Gate’s most popular tourist attractions, we look back at an island now carefully preserved by the National Park Service, a place where spectacular wildlife multiply and thrive and time has erased the fear and grief of years past.  Here, even the once dangerous, man-eating sharks seem to have deserted the waters.  How strange it seems to visit today and find there is so much beauty, where once there was none.  As the sun sets upon the isolation of Alcatraz, a single light from the abandoned lighthouse continues to glow across San Francisco Bay.  Perhaps, we may suppose that it remains a symbol of hope for those who knew and felt the darkness within.
Sharon L. Slayton

New York City came to a standstill, as airports, tunnels, and bridges were immediately closed and air traffic was shut down.  Emergency vehicles and rescue workers were hurriedly dispatched to help or search for people who lay dead or dying in the streets or buried under piles of debris.  The Center for Disease Control stepped in, along with hundreds of fire fighters and police attempting to contain the fire and rescue as many as possible.  Five warships and two aircraft carriers were deployed to protect the East Coast from further attack; the entire nation was on high alert.  Mass evacuations from the City and Ground Zero were put in place, but for many it was too late.  Over 3,000 people died on September 11 and countless others lived to mourn their loss.

In the months following, demolition, excavation, and recovery never ceased, as we watched and listened to the heroic efforts and the tragic reports of death, survival, and grief.  A year later, visitors, primarily relatives and friends of those who perished in the tragedy, slowly returned to Ground Zero.  The few tourists who were there to view the disaster found there were no words to describe the emotions or the sadness they felt.  Gradually, tourism was once again revived with the determination of a city and its people.  Broadway Theater contributed their efforts in an all-out campaign to bring tourism back to New York.  Within three years, sidewalk vendors were once again vieing for space to hawk their wares and complaining about the restrictions around the now sacred Ground Zero.  Today, double-decker buses filled with tourists arrive to view the tragedy, where sidewalk stands of souvenirs, ice cream, and hot dogs have replaced the dust and ashes of September 11.  Grief tourism has turned into commercialism, as it invariably will. 

People’s memories tend to fade in time, but for those of us who were there on that fateful day, the images will remain forever.  For others who only viewed the widespread devastation, there are now collections and exhibits in museums and memorials around the world.  The Museum of the City of New York at 1220 Fifth Avenue houses a remarkable, permanent collection of Ground Zero by noted photographer, Joel Merkowitz.  The Museum is open Tuesday – Sunday, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Monday holidays.  Admission is $9.00 for adults, seniors and students $5.00, and for neighboring East Harlem, admission is free.

The World Trade Center Memorial, Reflecting Absence, is scheduled to be completed and opened in September 2009.  The tree-filled plaza, 30 feet below street level, will have two recessed pools designed to simulate the pits of the Twin Towers at Ground Zero.  Ramps for visitors will lead to the pools where the victims’ names will be inscribed and the shields of the heroic firefighters and police will be displayed.  Each of the pits is linked by an underground passageway where tourists can enter the sacred area, light candles, hold memorial services, or simply spend time in quiet reflection upon the enormity of such a tragedy.  In the pit below what was once the North Tower, a stone vessel will be placed in commemoration of the remains of those as yet still unaccounted for.  When we visit this grandiose Memorial, we may find that enjoyment and pleasure, normally found in a major tourist attraction, have given way to insurmountable grief.  Perhaps, we’ll pause to ponder the proposal of a single journalist for a more fitting tribute to Ground Zero…”A cemetery where the dead speak more eloquently to the living…where a memorial of ashes, stone, and memories will withstand the tests of wind and rain and time.”

Despite the remarkable progress that has been made, the familiar skyline of New York City will never be quite the same nor will our country, the world, or its people ever completely recover from this tragedy.  The harsh reality of our vulnerability beneath the dark and ominous cloud of terror will be with us forever.

Sharon L. Slayton

Power and communication lines lay broken in the tide while animals, people, personal belongings, homes, and vehicles were swept away. The wetlands vanished in the hurricane’s wrath and over 80% of New Orleans was virtually under water.  People clung to rooftops, branches of trees, and each other in desperation, as rescue attempts were made. From the poorest to the rich and famous, Katrina made no discrimination. Those with no vehicles, no money, and not even a TV to warn them of the mandatory evacuation watched in horror as their few possessions and loved ones were swept away. The few who chose to remain could only watch the widespread devastation in helpless frustration, a tragedy beyond their control. At the convention center in New Orleans, crowds of people filled the arena until the roof began to leak, sanitary facilities became inoperable, and people were turned away at the front doors. Highways became roadways of more disaster, as people fled inland to higher ground. Others stood in line for hours in stifling heat, without water and food, fighting for seats on emergency buses, as shelters and hospitals overflowed. The National Guard was sent in to control the looting and the drug-related violence, as people panicked in the streets and fought for food and survival. We listened to the urgent pleas for help in finding the missing and opened our homes and our hearts to thousands of displaced people, doing what we could to somehow ease their grief and suffering.

In the aftermath of Katrina, suicide rates tripled and stories of more grief and sadness began to surface, the people left behind, too ill to evacuate, unconfirmed reports of mercy killings in hospitals, bodies in coffins awaiting identification, and families separated from their loved ones. Slow progress is being made toward recovery, as people return to grieve their losses. Many others have no way to return and 60 percent of the residents of New Orleans remain in exile. In some towns and cities, optimism and resilience have replaced despair, but in so many others, the shock, the agony, and the emptiness still remain.

While New Orleans’ huge tourist industry collapsed following Katrina, there were a few who wanted to see the destruction with their own eyes. The bars, restaurants, and souvenir shops are now open to tourists, eager to view the scene of a tragedy. While the sounds of jazz fill the streets of the French Quarter, the plaintive sound of a trumpet echoes somewhere in the darkness and desolation of the Big Easy.

The Katrina Memorial in Biloxi Mississippi, dedicated to those who perished in the tragedy, opened February 15, 2006 at a candlelight vigil. At the time of its opening to visitors, piles of debris and damaged buildings still lay on the ground. Within the 12-foot high Memorial stands a glass-enclosed case containing objects collected by the survivors, a faded photograph, a watch that no longer runs, a string of pearls, bits and pieces of a lifetime. In time, the names of the victims, many still missing and unaccounted for, will be inscribed on the Memorial. The National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. plans to open an exhibit in 2008 displaying 60 artifacts from Katrina, including a parking lot exit sign from New Orlean’s flooded 7th Ward, a blue and white hurricane sign posted on Broad Street with an arrow to safety, and a rosary used by a weathercaster forced to abandon his station. 

Much of the grief we feel is in the failure of the government to act responsibly, the lack of accountability, and the apparent miscommunications. Somehow, the apologies and excuses we listen to do little to lessen the sadness that we feel. A year later, as another hurricane season approaches, we hear that some levees have been repaired and rebuilt and some towns have resumed some semblance of normalcy. Yet, the people along the Gulf Coast live in fear, wondering if they really are any better prepared than they were last year, or will it be the same tale of grief and sorrow. Buildings and towns can be rebuilt and floodwaters can be drained, but we are left to ponder in our grief the words of Rabbi Wolpe, “those who only watched the devastation must remember the vivid images of lives upended, dreams shattered, homes and hearts swept up in the storm. Those who lived through it have the far harder task of clinging to what does last: to memory, to hope, to each other.”

Sharon L. Slayton

The Memorial, spanning the amidships portion of the sunken battleship, is 184 foot long and consists of three compartments, the entry room, the assembly room for ceremonies, and the marble wall engraved with the names of the crewmen of the U.S.S. Arizona.  Contemplating this tragedy serves as a reminder, not only of those who are gone, but also as a restoration of our innermost peace and patriotism.  The Memorial commemorates our strongest beliefs in freedom, unity, and the unwavering courage it takes to defeat our enemies.  The United States flag remains attached to the severed mainmast of the U.S.S. Arizona, a silent tribute to all military personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Pearl Harbor attack.

If you’re planning a visit to Honolulu, Hawaii, the visitors’ center for the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial is open 7 days a week, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.  Admission is free, on a first-come first-served basis, and includes a brief talk by a Park Service Ranger or Pearl Harbor survivor, a 23-minute documentary, and a boat trip to the Memorial. A museum is located in the visitors center and remembrance exhibits are on display for those personnel who were not on the Arizona, but died on December 7, 1941. Film permits are available for $100 and should be requested at least four business days in advance.

Sharon L. Slayton