Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Watering the cassion team horses at Arlington National Cemetery


Last Friday was hot here is DC with a new record, but despite the afternoon 105% the funerals at Arlington National Cemetery continued on schedule as always.
The honor guard wear their wool uniforms with the appearance of cool detachment.

This is more of a snapshot photo than I usually present, but as we waited for the arrival of
the family to the Old Administration bldg one of the stable hands made the trip from the barn with buckets of water to cool the horses. One of those things that's over and above what's expected of them but they are devoted to the well-being of the horses and their job honoring American veterans. 

I spoke to the family members traveling back to Oklahoma Monday night and the widow told me she spent the night in the hospital afterwards from a combination of the stress of heat, humidity and grief.
 
This was the first burial I've done in section 1 which is one of the oldest parts of the cemetery between the Lee mansion and the Fort Myers Old Post Chapel. The family has gravesites there for 4 generations of family members that have served in the U.S. military.

Don Harper

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Wonderful Beauty of Storms


This was a fast moving storm that moved through Arlington on the July 4th weekend. A bit of destruction knocked out power but the storm created some beautiful moments as it moved down the Potomac River and across the Washington DC area from Virginia.