Arlington Ladies

Grim Duty in Section 60

One more article about the “Arlington Ladies,” and the quiet work that they do.

On a winter day when the rows and rows of white headstones were shrouded in a band of low-lying mist at Arlington National Cemetery, Jane Newman took her place in the white-gloved military honor guard. As the ashes of the latest fallen soldier arrived, she placed her hand over her heart in the civilian salute.

She didn’t know this soldier or the family that shuffled behind his urn, shoulders stooped in grief. As usual, she knew only his name, Keith E. Fiscus. His age, 26. His years of service in the Army, four, and the names of his next of kin. Yet when she went through the paperwork that morning, she felt a pang. He was one more soldier killed in Iraq.

When she was invited five years ago to become an Army Arlington Lady, Newman, the wife of a 30-year Army artillery officer and herself a retired Army nurse, was drawn to the group’s mission: No soldier is ever buried alone. Every fourth Tuesday of the month, she spends the day at Arlington, standing graveside, hand over heart, at up to six funerals a day.

via Grim Duty in Section 60.

At Arlington, Each Soldier Has A Special Lady

I first read about this remarkable group of ladies a few years ago, and I haven’t been able to forget them, or the loving service they provide to the families of fallen soldiers. They are a beautiful example of compassion, respect, and patriotism.

Joyce Johnson remembers the drums beating slowly as she walked with her girls from the Old Post Chapel, behind the horse-drawn caisson carrying the flag-draped casket of her husband.

She remembers struggling to maintain her composure as she stared at his freshly dug grave, trying not to dwell on the terrible sight in the distance — the gaping hole in the Pentagon where he had so proudly worked.

The three-volley salute. Taps. The chaplain handing her a perfectly folded flag. The blur of tributes.

And then a lady stepped forward, a stranger, dressed not in uniform but in a simple dark suit. She whispered a few words and pressed two cards into Johnson’s hands.

“If there is anything you need …”

via At Arlington, each soldier has a special lady – US news – Life – Military – msnbc.com.