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As par their usual stupidity and bias, the wingnut conservatives are trying once more to somehow construe this as another sign that Obama never served in the military and has no regard for our military men who have died in the service of the country.Â
There's no law that says the wreath must be laid by the President at Arlington National Cemetery. In fact, the Republicans might be interested to know that former President George H. W. Bush, a man we all know to be a war hero,  never laid a single wreath at the Tomb of The Unknowns during his tenure in the White House. Either his Vice President or another high-ranking figure in the military assumed that role.Â
Bush, you may recall, was a pilot during World War II who completed his mission though his plane was badly hit before having to ditch in the Pacific. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his bravery.
While it's true that Elwood Cemetery (now Lincoln National Cemetery)  was not originally designated a national cemetery,  neither was Arlington. In fact, Arlington, which sits on the former estate of Robert E. Lee just across the Potomic from Washington D.C. was originally chosen as the burial ground for Union soldiers following the Civil War. Some 300,000 were relocated and buried there.
Many considered that a fitting rebuke to General Lee who had ignored Lincoln's famous exhortation to hold the Union together, choosing instead to lead the Virginia troops against the North.Â
Union soldiers branded Lee a traitor for turning his back on the President, especially given the fact that his wife, Mary Custis, who had inherited the estate and the Arlington Mansion, was the great-granddaughter of Martha Washington. Mary Custis-Lee and her family were forced to flee south during the war, never to return to Arlington House, which fell into disrepair.
The Custis-Lee mansion, which sits on a hilltop just above the spot where President John F. Kennedy and his family are laid to rest, has since been restored and is open to the public for tours.Â
According to Carl Cannon, senior correspondent for Politics Daily.com, "this nation's passion for Arlington National Cemetery came when another World War II naval hero-turned president was buried there amid sadness and shock in 1963."
Kennedy's funeral was viewed by millions, many of the "Great Generation", who decided they too wanted to be buried at Arlington.
In fact, the desire to be buried in a national cemetery has grown so much that we now have 133 national cemeteries, including Lincoln National Cemetery. Are those war dead in the other 132 somehow less deserving of a visit by their Commander-in-chief on Memorial Day?
Personally, I would like to see the President lay a wreath at a different national cemetery each year. It's not the location that consecrates the ground--it's the fallen who rest there, whether it be in a national cemetery or a private one known only to family and friends.Â
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As Cannon concludes in his op-ed:
The hallowed ground in Elwood, Ill., serves as a reminder of that truth. It was designated as a national cemetery in 1999, but even before that, it was a burial ground for some of Illinois' best and bravest sons.
In Section One, grave number 1613, lie the remains of 1st Sgt. Theodore Hyatt of the 127th Illinois Infantry, who died in May 1863 at the Battle of Vicksburg, and for his gallantry as a member of a "volunteer storming party" was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Michael Pearson is buried in Elwood, too. He was an Army private known in his suburban Chicago hometown for his musical talent. He played piano, was a virtuoso at guitar improvisation, wrote songs, revered Jimi Hendrix, and hoped to someday be a music teacher. Instead, he was killed in last November's massacre at Fort Hood before ever leaving for Afghanistan. He was 21 years old.
Albert D. Ware, a 27-year-old infantryman did make it to Afghanistan -- twice, in fact -- but he didn't make it back home. He joined the service after 9/11 to do his part. His father, Thomas, recalls being afraid for his only son, but proud of him.
Last December, Albert's mother, Anna, answered a knock at the door to find uniformed officers bearing the worst news a mother can hear. Her son, who died in combat when his Humvee was blown up, also left behind a wife and three children.
Albert Ware is also buried at Elwood, the place his commander-in-chief is to visit Monday.
