My daughter and her family are visiting Washington DC this spring break. They will be visiting the usual must sees in DC and the surrounding area. I am excited for them, my grand-girls are ten, seven and four. I think even the four-year old will be impressed by the things she is about to see. I remember going to the 1965 World’s Fair in New York city and I was only four. I wish I could go with them…
One of their stops will be Arlington National Cemetery. It will be the first time my daughter and her family will visit the grave of my father.
He died eighteen years ago on March 22, he was buried March 31, 1997.
My Dad, Colonel Walter Benjamin Daniel United States Army, Silver Star recipient, Vietnam War Veteran passed away in his 57th year on my youngest daughter’s birthday. Nine days of progress style memorials beginning in Georgia took place before he finally reached the Chapel at Arlington. He was honored at each stop by the many brothers at arms gathered during his 31 years in the Army. He left behind a small family, his wife, a step-daughter, me and three granddaughters. All three granddaughters belong to me. His funeral family entourage consisted of me, my step-mother and step-sister. We were exhausted. We had done a good job of listening to countless “hero” stories that needed to be told by those who were there. Each tale found us hanging by a thread as the embarrassing and unseemly tide of tears threatened.
We rode in a black sedan behind the caisson carrying my dad’s casket. We passed tourists as we processed to the grave site. Many stopped and saluted. My step-mother, the hardest hit by the nine days of mourning rituals that demanded stoic patriotism, began to tell us that we could all be buried in Arlington if we wanted. Apparently there is a tradition of burying spouses and children with the veteran. One on top of the other. Nearing hysteria after the heart wrenching ceremonies we began to laugh. Grateful for tinted windows of our sedan we laughed at the image of each of us stacked on top of my dad in death. We laughed until we finally cried.
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