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.

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Veteran's Day 2008

Veteran's Day at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Saint Louis, Missouri. My parents are buried here. And it sounds strange, but I enjoy going there. It unfortunately is a very busy cemetery, performing over 30 burials a day. So many WWII veterans. I find it comforting is some strange way, to know they are all watching out for each other. It is interesting to go and see the changes that occur and how folks remember their loved ones. I'm fascinated by some of the things that folks have written on their monuments, and saddened as well at times. You can tell when someone has lived a full long life, or their life was cut short by war, or perhaps they were a child of a veteran. Everyone has a story.

If you wander into the older section, you see that the cemetery overlooks the Mississippi River, in the center of the photo you can almost make out the Gateway Arch. I've altered the lighting on this photo, it was a gray day, with the sun peeking in and out. Pretty typical for St. Louis in November.

I stood around and waited for the sun to come back out at this section, the bright sun glaring on the head stones was wonderful.

More playing with Photo Shop Elements, maybe someday I'll figure out what I am doing, and can do it on purpose.

My dad's stone, my mom is buried here as well, she is memorialized ( is that a word) on the back. Remembering their wedding day, and that they are together forever.