Arlington National Cemetery

Daffodils are sprouting up out of the ground, starting the end of winter here. I’ve been enjoying long walks again and one of the best places to do so is in Arlington National Cemetery. It’s not only inspiring to walk along the paths and read epitaphs for so many honorable men and women buried on grounds, it is a place of personal comfort for me as well. If I ever feel a little homesick, I can visit relatives who have been laid to rest there.

I always find motivational people like Medgar Evers, civil rights activist, or Richard Byrd, the polar explorer. This time, I found René Gagnon who was one of six marines that helped raise the American flag over Mt Suribachi in 1945, a moment captured by the iconic photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. The back of his headstone reads, “For God and his country he raised our flag in battle and showed a measure of his pride at a place called Iwo Jima where courage never died.”