Arlington Cemetery

JFK's grave with eternal flame
Monday 12th June
A fully packed day today. First off was a visit to Arlington National Cemetery where over 290000 servicemen and their family members are buried. The land originally belonged to Robert E. Lee (the Confederate General) and was confiscated when he chose to fight for the South during the American Civil War of 1861-5. The Union felt it would add salt to Lee’s wounds to turn his land into a graveyard for Union soldiers, and so the National Cemetery was born. By the end of the war 16000 soldiers were buried there. Also buried there is J.F. Kennedy who commanded patrol boats in the Pacific during WW11 and was highly decorated for saving his crew, his wife Jackie and his brother Bobby, who also served in the Navy. JFK’s grave is very simple, with an eternal flame. Even though this was so long ago (22nd Nov 1963), this senseless assassination still upsets me.