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The last Monday in May is the US Memorial Day, when we honor our fallen military men and women.

I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. - John Adams, second President of the United States of America

I don't often wave the flag around here, but I don't apologize for being an American, either. We're human, so sometimes we do good and sometimes we do bad. Even more so this applies to the military. All too often we discuss the evils of war and the mis-use of power on this forum, but at their best, the men and women of the military represent some of the very best of humanity: those who give up their own comfort and safety so that others may live comfortably and safely; those who travel far from homes so that others may be remain in theirs and not become refugees of war; those who are willing to lay down their lives so that others may live.

Find the cost of freedom, buried in the ground - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Here are the last resting places of the most noble heros of my country, over 600,000 who have died in combat since 1776, and of the hundreds of thousands more who survived war but who we honor for their service:

Calumet Cemetery, Merrillville, Indiana - WWII to present

This is one of the local cemeteries. It's across from the grocery store I shop at. And these pictures are from the funeral of a local "boy" who died in the current conflict in Iraq.




Revolutionary War Cemetery, Salem, New York - United States Revoltionary War


Revolutionary War Cemetery, Wilkes County - United States Revoltionary War



What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world. - Robert E. Lee

Arlington National Cemetary, Arlington, Virgina, USA - Civil War to present



One phrase used for this place is "the gardens of stone", for the headstones "blossoming" in the "fields".



Arlington was, originally, the estate of Robert E. Lee. During the US Civil War Lee was off fighting for the Confederacy, and his family gone due to its proximity to the Union capital. Originally, burial of Union troops in Lee's backyard was intended as slap in the face to Lee, laying the results of the Confederate secession and rebellion literally at his doorstep. It has since become the resting place for America's most honored dead. Honored dead who are not just generals and Presidents but also ordinary soldiers of low rank.


We have gone forth from our shores repeatedly over the last hundred years and we've done this as recently as the last year in Afghanistan and put wonderful young men and women at risk, many of whom have lost their lives, and we have asked for nothing except enough ground to bury them in. - Colin Powell

Gardens of stone from American seeds have bloomed elsewhere in the world. Approximately 125,000 US service men and women are buried abroad in 24 "American Cemetaries" scattered around the world. An additiona 90,000+ are still listed as missing in action, or were known to have fallen but whose remains have either not been recovered or were not identifiable. Ironic, in that so many have come from around the world to the United States, and so many of their children have gone out into the world and not come home again.

Below are some, but not all, of those cemeteries


The American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France



Within sight of the cemetary is Omaha Beach, where most of the 9,000+ Americans in this cemetery died in 1944. Those who did not die on the beach died driving the Nazis back to Germany.




Brookwood American Cemetery, Brookwood, Surrey, England - WWII




Sicily-Rome American Cemetary, Nettuno, Italy - WWI



Florence American Cemetery, Florence, Italy - WWII



North African American Cemetery, Tunisia - WWII



Manilla American Cemetery, Manilla, Phillipines - WWII



Only the dead have seen the end of the war - Plato

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. - Jesus

As much as politicians might abuse war for personal gain and prejudice, as unjust or selfish or ignorant as a conflict might be, as staggering and abstract as death tolls grow, we should never forget that each of those white stones represents a soldier who laid down his or her life for what they believed in, their families, their freedoms, the ideals that they revered, and for that they must be afforded the highest respect that the living can bestow.