“Uncommon valor was a common virtue.”
That inscription on the Iwo Jima monument in Arlington, Virginia, was a tribute from Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Even I, even now, am not unmoved by the iconic statue of the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi at Iwo Jima, especially knowing some of the stories behind it and some of the men, one of whom is buried nearby at the north entrance to Arlington Cemetery.
I have lived near the Iwo Jima and Arlington Cemetery for almost 40 years. I used to take my German shepherd on walks through Arlington Cemetery. Combat dogs are rightfully buried in Arlington, but dogs are no longer permitted to walk the paths therein. Cemetery staff is probably protecting the gravestones from the possibility of being defaced, which is certainly why they built security stations at the entrances and fenced in the whole 639 acres. So now, you can’t enter with a dog, and you can’t enter the cemetery without being searched. I don’t go in anymore—except for NASA’s Day of Remembrance of the astronauts of Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia and special occasion like Memorial Day or Christmas, when flags are placed on the graves there.
I wrote some of the observations below on May 11, 2021 during a walk to the Iwo Jima memorial on a similarly beautiful May.
The clouds are lowering. Birds, airplanes, cars, and conversations murmur in the background. An occasional waft from the porto potties breaks the natural setting. My beagle-border collie mix, Alex, howls at an airplane overhead. A cool breeze swings my hair around my face.
A group has gotten up a frisbee game. Does one young man--mауbe the lanky 20-something in red boxer shorts to his knee--have a German accent?
Alex tries a barely discernible soft howl again. He reaches his nose to the sky and purses his tips, but only gently howls.
I sit on one of the black cement ledges at the plaza looking toward the statue, the pine woods behind me.
A thin lean, sleek black dog with a white blaze, and a pit bull face whines to see Alex. His owner, in white boat sneakers, black leggings, a chopped light royal blue sweater, and blond ponytail, asks if they can say hi. I smile at his dog. "He's a cutie" as he bounces around 13-year-old Alex, trying to be friendly.
I'm not the only one on the ledge. Two men in hoodies--one black, one blue--read books. The homeless man, who is friends with Alex and sometimes shares food with him, is at the end.
Birds cheep and trill among the specimen trees. Two kids run up behind us. "Daddy I want to say hi to the dog!" Daddy is not listening. He has a frisbee in hand.
The Iwo Jima park is a peaceful place to recreate in the view of the monument to human sacrifice on the battlefield. The inscription quoted above is a reminder that it is a peaceful place because of their sacrifice.
Obscured in today’s politics, I still believe that truism, “Home of the free because of the brave,” a bravery that means self-discipline, sacrifice, and restraint. I fear I am becoming unredeemingly cynical. Not that it matters. The good fight is the only fight for me. Standing for those ideals, like they’re possible or at least matter or make a difference, as my sister did to become an astronaut, is who I am.
The Iwo Jima is under construction. Neighbor Charlie said the parks finally got permission from the Marine Corps to build permanent restrooms, after legislation was passed when the Air Force tried to put up their new monument on one of the three plots at the Iwo Jima, that no one could build anything on the park space.
The carillon is getting a facelift by the Dutch. A gift from the Netherlands as a thank you for help during World War II, the carillon provides peaceful bell concerts during the summer. The Netherlands is refurbishing the bells in the tower and reinforcing and painting the structure. Every year, tulips are planted in a large circle in front of the monument from our ally. In 2023, Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands was the key speaker at their second freedom concert celebrating their Liberation Day, May 5. As the godchild of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was good friends with her family, she reminded us of that time and our bonds.
They showed old film of American soldiers walking into small Dutch towns liberated from the Germans. Two of the men involved taped testimonials about what that was like. They live streamed a concert from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten among the graves of the dead. They included the ambassador to the U.S. from Ukraine, Oksana Markarova, who drew the parallels with what Ukraine is facing today. American dead in nearby Belgium are immortalized in poetry by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.
In Flanders fields, the poppies grow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
They acknowledged contributions in a tribute to Rosie the Riveters.
Thanks to the supplemented generosity of a large-scale donor, the Iwo Jima black marble has been polished and the roadway and parking around the monument repaved. The inscriptions of places Marines died around the world are burnished with new gold leaf. From the founding of the Corps in the Revolutionary War in 1775, Marines have fought in Tripoli (1801), War of 1812, Florida Indiana Wars (1835), Mexico (1846), Civil War (1898), Spanish War (1898), rebellion against foreigners in China (1900), and Haiti (1915). World War battles include Belleau Wood, Blanc Mont, Meuse-Argonne, Pearl Harbor, Midway, Guadalcanal, Marianas Islands, and of course Iwo Jima. Lately, Vietnam, Lebanon, Grenada, Persian Gulf, Panama, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq (2003). The history of where U.S. troops were deployed may be tarnished, but that doesn’t tar the men, and sometimes women, who served.
Maybe we’ve had it so easy for so long (maybe because of a rules-based international order that supported civilization and suppressed wanton destruction) that we’ve forgotten what it took.
Here’s a reminder from Playboy - Ukraine.
I head toward home but find an even quieter spot on a rock beneath a crepe myrtle and other ornamental trees in the little triangle landscaped area between roads. Mixed feelings, temperament, temperature. I am reminding myself not to take these beautiful surroundings for granted.
Alex picks up a stick to chew to occupy himself, then settles for sampling the scents on the wind and watching the cars, people, and bikes go by. They watch him, too.
Perhaps because I live among these enduring places of honor and memory, they are a touchstone for me. I am sharing them with you.
Thank you for your service.
Beautiful. Thanks.