Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Veteran's Day 2008 Part 2

I enjoy wandering around the cemetery and reading the stones, imagining what the people were like and what their families were thinking about and remembering when they ordered the stones. Here are a few, humorous, sad, profound, and ordinary.

I'm worried about these two wives being together for all eternity, what were they thinking. But they both loved the same man, I assume, and it at least appears they weren't divorced wives. Can you imagine that,....?

The cemetery gives you a print out of about 50 different religious emblems you can have on your stone, or you can choose to have no emblem. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/funeral_information/authorized_emblems.html . I found this grave way over along the wall, near a back entrance. They bury people, sort of in order as they die. Very military. But makes sense, they work in a section for several weeks, then wander to another. I had a morbid need to watch the progress after my parents died. ( they died about 6 weeks apart) My mother passed away first, they had a temporary marker at first, they would bring in a pallet of markers and install them all at once. I saw my mom's marker on the top of the pallet, then they had them leaning upright against a stone wall, it was very tempting to try to thumb through them like cards, but they must weigh, gosh....a lot....( a technical term). My mom was on the front of the stone for about 2 -3 weeks. Then my dad passed away, and they brought in a whole new stone, putting my dad on the front and my mom on the back.....

I digress as usual, I thought Pershing Flanders sounded very cool, he wouldn't want an identifying mark other than Musician Artist..and a cut above.

I was just sure this read Harley Davidson.

Michael Joseph Blassie had been interred at Arlington National Cemetery in the tomb of the Unknowns, as the Unknown from the VietNam War. His remains were identifed with modern technology, and he was reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

So remember our Veterans and those who serve all of us.