Ah, good. You found you way here from the daily history post. Well, this is why there's Memorial Day.

Thanks Dave,

Very nice. Some young soldier will most likely die today for us.

A few weeks ago, we found a gov't issue stone for a 2nd Potomac Home Guard fellow, who was buried next to the C&O Canal. We didn't mark down the location, or write down his name, but I have to wonder if anyone wandered out there to decorate his grave for this holiday -- or any other holiday for that matter. Since he wasn't far from a lockhouse, finding that spot again may not be too difficult.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XiuZRb_4UU

A piece from last year about the men who guard the Tomb of the Unknowns.  If you haven't witnessed the entire ceremony, I suggest you make it one of the things you do in your lifetime.

Lest we forget.

Mark

Thanks for the great pictures.  There is something about seeing the American Flay on the graves of those who have served our country (you and me) that makes me pause and thank God for their lives.

Had I made it to my home town, if no one else did I would have put a flag on the grave of my brother who served in Korea.

I visited Spring Grove here in Cincinnati today (so I would know exactly where to go tomorrow as the 6th OVI pays tribute to our CW Vets buried there) and my wife and I were moved by the number of graves, each with an American Flag.  We even noted one grave in particulate of a vet from a Tennessee regiment.

To anyone here who is in or has been in the military, I salute you and express my appreciation to you.

Amen to all that has been said here. To those who gave some, to those giving today, to those who gave all, and to the families that suffer the loss whether it be temporary or forever; THANK YOU!!!!

Ten GIs Die on Memorial Day in Iraq
May Becomes Deadliest Month of Year for Troops
By RAVI NESSMAN
AP
BAGHDAD (May 29) -- Ten American soldiers were killed in roadside bombings and a helicopter crash in a restive province north of Baghdad , the U.S. military reported Tuesday, making May the deadliest month of the year for U.S. troops in Iraq

I have nothing to add. This short article says it all.

I've said more than once the government should print casualty lists in the newspapers, daily, like they did in the CW. I think folks have become immune to the real cost of any war.

On Memorial Day my wife and I went down a poorly maintained back woods county road to a small church that was established in 1838.  The church was small but not the cemetery.  The cemetery is on both sides of the road.  There were quite a number of US flags present in this cemetery and two Confederate battle flags.  One of those Confederate battle flags was on the grave of my great grandfather who served in a Mississippi Cavalry unit as a mere adolescent.  The battle flag was replaced with a more appropriate First National.

Some grave markers age graciously, but not this one.  It has aged grotesquely.  You can hardly read it because of discoloration and erosion.  How do you clean an old tombstone?  Is there an accepted procedure?

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Curtis Makamson wrote : Some grave markers age graciously, but not this one.  It has aged grotesquely.  You can hardly read it because of discoloration and erosion.  How do you clean an old tombstone?  Is there an accepted procedure?

Would it be easier to get a replacement stone put in behind the old one or maybe as a "foot stone"?

Find out who ownes/maintains the property, they can let you know if replacement is even an option. Water, soap, and a good stiff nylon brush can do wonders, without removing more stone. If it were me, I'd try to replace the stone. To me, that would be a fine tribute to your ancestor.

I don't know if anyone noticed but, on the Confederate graves in the Evergreen and National Cemetery (there are 5), the American flag was placed, just like all the rest. After all, The Confederacy no longer exists and they were always Americans.

I never did understand the "eternal" misuse of the battle flag from only some of the Confederate States, in place of what was the appropriate National color. It's fun to point that out during educational programs. "Which is the National flag of the Confederacy?," raises quite a few eyebrows when you tell/show folks the correct answer. That big dark flag with the big white spot in the center always throws 'em for a loop. I like to fly it around the camper when we're on vacation just to make the neighbors curious.

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I don't know if anyone noticed but, on the Confederate graves in the Evergreen and National Cemetery (there are 5), the American flag was placed, just like all the rest.

Trying to remember are there 3 in Evergreen and Two in the National?