Last July my wife and I travelled to Arlington National Cemetary and had the honor of attending the funeral (with full military honors) of an old friend, Commander Joe Jobe, USN. Joe was a Navy pilot in the Pacific Theater during WW2 flying PB4Y Liberators, the Navy version of a B-24. He was awarded 3 Silver Stars, 5 Distinguished Flying Crosses and 7 Air Medals for his valor and flying skill. Here are a few of the pictures I shot that day:

 

Very moving photos. Thank you for sharing. Sounds like your friend was quite a man and a national treasure.

 

Thank you very much for those great photos. They are very moving. Our nation owes a huge debt of gratitude towards Joe Jobe and the men and women like him who served during WWII. Their ranks are thinner as the years go by, but they will not be forgotten.

 

I agree. One of the great treats of that trip was to meet one of the few surviving members of Joe's squadron. It also happened to coincide with the funeral of an Iwo Jima survivor, and at the hotel, we got to talk to several of the Marines who were involved in that invasion.

I have one more photo to add to this. It is of the American Cemetary in Normandy, France. The grave with the flag placed at it belongs to my uncle, Clyde Parke, who died in the invasion at Utah Beach.



Two days before we visited that site, my wife told a 40-ish shopkeeper in Paris that we were going out there to see my uncle's grave. She immediately stopped what she was doing, turned toward me, looked me square in the eyes and said: "You thank your uncle for me. Because of him, we're free!"

I did.

 

Your photos and comments touched my heart.

 

Wow, that is one decorated veteran. A real hero.

I actually used to work for the National Cemetery Administration, I've been to about 60 national cemeteries, and I have been to Arlington a few dozen times. I have probably laid to rest 25,000 veterans while managing the facilities, and each one has been special in its own way. I am no longer in that line of work, but I can say it was the hardest and at the same time most rewarding thing I've ever done.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

I was in the AirForce and stationed at Dover AFB (the morgue) and more often than I can admit I was assigned to the C-141 aircraft that would bring in the bodies from the Vietnam conflict and made it a personal quest for it to make it safely in both directions. It seemed like every day I would see the aircraft full of caskets. To this day I can honestly tell you I have only attended one Military funeral and have not gone to the Vietnam Wall and I lived about an hour away. Not sure I can deal with it. It is all about the true fallen heroes!

 

Chris and Gus,

Thanks for sharing your personal experiences. They too are powerful testimonies to the sacredness of a veteran's life.

We have a friend who did two tours in Iraq and one in Afganistan as an Army Ranger, then became a Captain of the Old Guard. For those who may not know, the Old Guard is the US Army regiment that guards the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetary, and handles the duties that you see the Sailors perfoming in my pictures whenever the deceased served in the Army. In fact, the soldiers riding the horses in the pictures belong to the Old Guard.

We happened to be in DC in 2009 on the 234th birthday of the Army, and got to see our friend and his troops participate in the formal "Laying of the Wreath" ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns. (The Secretary of the Army laid the wreath.) Their precision and discipline are really impressive. I have some neat pictures from that event that I'll track down and add here soon. I don't remember the exact number, but I think he told me they perform something like 20 funerals every day.

God bless our servicemen and servicewomen.

 

Those Old Guard troops are no joke. I've seen them in action many times and the precision is incredible. I was honored to lay a wreath at the Tomb in 2004, I consider it one of the most cherished (and humbling) things I have ever done in my life.

I remember talking with an Undersecretary for the Dept of Veterans Affairs about them one time. He told me that when Hurricane Ivan hit DC a few years back, they were evacuating the city and closing down everything. The Tomb of the Unknown detail were told they should leave. They steadfastly refused to even consider evacuation and leaving the Tomb unguarded. Through the hurricane, they guarded that tomb with the same dedication as always. I don't know if he was telling a tale or not, but seeing them in action I have no reason to not trust what he said as true.

 

These would be the aforementioned pictures. The officer with his back to us in the first photo is our friend, Steve. By the way, as I recall it was about 100 degrees and 90% humidity that day.













Cheers,