War takes toll on Arlington Ladies - Photos

[partylessinOhio]

Some of the Arlington Ladies have asked to be excused after seeing so many young soldiers buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

____________________________________________________


War takes toll on Arlington Ladies
At cemetery, no one is ever buried alone

Sunday, January 14, 2007
Brigid Schulte
Washington Post

Washington - On a winter day when the 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 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: that 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.

When she started, most of the soldiers she was burying were World War II veterans or soldiers who had lived long lives. Handing a condolence card on behalf of the Army chief of staff and saying a few kind words from the "Army family" to a grieving widow was never easy.

But these days, as the death toll from the Iraq war has topped 3,000 and many of the buried are young soldiers, Newman and other Arlington Ladies are finding it difficult to do their solemn duty. Some have asked to be excused. ...

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1168777924202170.xml&coll=2





Arlington Lady Cecelia Smith hands Kim O’Neill, widow of Capt. William James O’Neill, a personal note of condolence as well as a card from the Army chief of staff.

[Loge23]

1. Heartbreaking

When will this country come for the murderers?

[benddem]

2. several of my friends

are Arlington Ladies. They do a remarkable job. I'm sure I couldn't do it.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I watched a documentary about Arlington National Cemetary

several months ago and they told about the Arlington ladies. This is a very special group of people. More from the Arlington website.

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/anc-lady.htm

[Virginia Dare]

4. Arlington is completely overwhelmed...

several years back my neighbor, a former Marine, veteran of WWII, Korea and Viet Nam passed away. It took four months before they could hold his ceremony. And they delivered the wrong urn to his widow. Between all of the old veterans passing, and the Iraq War dead, they really are having a hard time keeping up.

[gratuitous]

5. I understand Donald Rumsfeld might have some free time

He could probably give the Arlington Ladies a break now and then.

I'm not sure how the military families would react, though. Most of them have probably suffered enough.

[eleny]

6. Recommended - What a moving article

And this newspaper asks for so little to get access to the whole article. Thanks for posting since I never knew about the "Arlington Ladies".