Yesterday an unknown soldier, who was killed at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862, was buried in Section 81 at Arlington National Cemetery. He was buried next to the grave of two other Union soldiers, who were killed in the same battle.
Archaeologists believe the soldier to have been about seventeen years old and based on surviving coat buttons most likely served in a New York regiment.
Soldiers from the Army’s Old Guard led the silver casket to the burial site. The only noise that could be heard was that of the playing of “Taps” and the rifle volleys fired in salute.
Any crowds nearby would have stood silent as the procession passed.
Despite the large crowds that visit Arlington National Cemetery throughout the year, it is largely a landscape of silence. That silence is a sign of respect. The long rows of graves representing just about every war is itself a memorial to sacrifice and service to country. It needs nothing more.
That silence may soon be eclipsed by sound of construction crews and eventually the permanent shadow and distraction of President Trump’s massive triumphal arch planned for Memorial Circle. His proposed 250-foot triumphal arch is poised for a final federal approval.
The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) is expected to greenlight the project at its meeting today, which could theoretically allow construction to begin before the sun goes down.
In response to criticism about the arch’s impact on the city’s monument landscape, Trump has rebranded the monument as the “Triumphal Arc Military Complex.” The administration now claims the 250-foot structure will serve a national security purpose by housing drone capabilities and sniper platforms to protect the capital.
The District of Columbia and the State of Virginia filed a joint lawsuit to halt the project, calling it “legally indefensible.” They argue the administration is bypassing required congressional authorizations. Additional lawsuits from local veterans' groups argue the arch will permanently destroy the historic sightlines between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
This project embodies the very corruption that was overwhelmingly voted down by Americans across the country earlier this week.
The fact that it has come to this at all reflects a massive failure on the part of congress and a slew of commissions, whose oversight responsibility is there to prevent one man from turning our most sacred public landscapes into his personal playground and vanity project.
