Arlington National Cemetery is located in Arlington County, Virginia, united States, adjacent to washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Potomac River. It was originally arlington house, the private estate of U.S. Confederate General Robert E. Lee. After the outbreak of the American Civil War, the estate was occupied by the Federal Government of the United States. In 1864, the U.S. federal government requisitioned a total of 200 acres (0.81 sq km) of land around Arlington Palace as a military cemetery to bury American servicemen killed during the Civil War. After the End of the Civil War, it officially became the National Military Cemetery of the United States, where all American soldiers who died in foreign combat and whose remains could be transported back to their home countries were buried here.
Today, after several expansions, Arlington National Cemetery covers more than 600 acres (2.43 square kilometers) and the remains of more than 400,000 U.S. service members and their relatives are buried here. Only medal recipients, active-duty soldiers killed in combat, veterans in senior positions and their relatives are eligible for burial here. For every American soldier, it is also a great honor to be able to rest here.
■ Arlington National Cemetery Cemetery Map.
Arlington National Cemetery is fully open to the public year-round, free admission for visitors, whether U.S. citizens or not, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (October to May) and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (April to September). If you want to visit the cemetery, you can download the official app for Arlington National Cemetery called "ANC Explorer" on your phone in advance. Not only is there a high-definition satellite photo of the cemetery, but you can also enter the name of the date of birth and death to find the specific burial location of the soldier and navigate. If you already know which U.S. servicemen you want to visit and hoist here, you can find and mark the location of each tombstone on this software and generate the shortest navigation route. During the visit, the author used this software to help an old American man find the specific location of the tombstone of her military relatives, which is very convenient and practical.
■ The official app interface of Arlington National Cemetery.
At the end of 2019, the author took the opportunity of the winter vacation to visit arlington National Cemetery in the United States with friends living in Washington, D.C., USA. The traffic here is very convenient, just take the subway to reach the cemetery entrance directly. Stepping out of the subway station, you can see the "Avenue of Heroes" where the entrance to the cemetery is located, and there are several monuments and statues erected on both sides of the road, which you can see closely.
■ Hero Avenue, where the entrance to the cemetery is located, at the end of the road is the American Women's Military Memorial.
■ Monument to the 4th "Ivy" Infantry Division of the US Army. The division, which lasted through World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War and the Afghan War, is now the 4th Mechanized Infantry Division of the US Army and is an ace of the US Army.
■ Monument to the 101st Airborne Division of the US Army. The division fought against the powerful Germans in the European theaters of World War II, taking heavy losses, but accomplishing various tasks well, the most famous of which was the battle at the Battle of The Ardennes at bastogne. The American military documentary novel and HBO miniseries "Brothers Company" are based on the real combat history of Company E of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.
■ U.S. Naval Engineering Corps Monument. U.S. Naval Engineers built a large number of forward bases and airfields in the Pacific Theater of World War II, making a great contribution to the final victory of the world anti-fascist war. Henderson Airfield, which played an important role in the Battle of Guadalcanal, was built on the basis of the Japanese airfield.
Walking through the gates and through the security checks at the Visitor Center, we enter arlington National Cemetery. On this day, the weather was average, and the sun occasionally shot out of the cloud cave, but there were not many tourists visiting, and most of them came together with young and old. The cemetery is completely free to visit and there are no restrictions on the route. If you think the cemetery is too big and want to save energy and time, you can buy a pass for the bus inside the cemetery at the visitor center, which has a fixed route and will travel to and from the cemetery of various celebrities. I did not choose to take the bus, but walked the whole tour.
■ Entrance to Arlington National Cemetery.
■ A corner of the cemetery.
■ A negligent cemetery.
To the right of the visitor center is the American Women's Soldier Memorial, the building at the end of heroes' avenue. It displays the glorious history of American women joining the military and serving the country, as well as various exhibits about female soldiers, witnessing the improvement of the status of American women. 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the first female service member of the U.S. Marine Corps, when a ceremony was held here.
After visiting the memorial, we head to the northernmost point of the cemetery, where there is a U.S. Marine Corps Monument. I believe that military history lovers are already very familiar with the shape of this monument, which is directly based on a famous war photography: "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima". The base of the monument is engraved with all the wars in which the U.S. Marine Corps fought since its founding.
■ "The Flag Flutters on Iwo Jima", photographed on February 23, 1945 by U.S. Military Correspondent Joe Rosenthal at the top of Iwo Jima's Origami Bowl. The movie "Father's Banner" tells the story of this famous photo.
Leaving the monument, we headed to the graveyard of General William Halsey, a five-star admiral of the United States Navy. General Halsey was one of the most famous generals in the history of the U.S. Navy, commanding bravery and decisiveness, earning him the nickname "Wild Bull"; and was called "Admiral of the Sailors" by his subordinates because of his easy-going nature. In World War II, he participated in and commanded a series of major naval and air battles and landing operations of the US military in the Pacific Theater, including air raids on the Marshall Islands, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, New Georgia, Bougainville, Philippines, etc., annihilating countless Japanese troops and making outstanding achievements.
However, Halsey's command in World War II was also controversial, such as in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, due to his miscommunication of command, a large number of surface combat ships of the Japanese Navy almost burst into the almost unsuspecting U.S. landing site in Leyte Gulf; or in December 1944, the fleet he commanded mistakenly entered the typhoon area, resulting in the sinking of 3 destroyers, the injury of many ships, and the death of more than 800 sailors, but the U.S. Navy did not hold him accountable after investigation. Halsey was promoted to five-star general after the war, retired from active service in 1947, and died in San Francisco in 1959.
■ General Halsey was buried here with her beloved wife.
General Halsey also participated in the organization of the airstrike on the Japanese mainland on April 18, 1942, known as the "Doolittle Air Raid.". The bombing operation was led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, who personally led 16 modified Army B-25 medium bombers from the USS Hornet, bombed targets in the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Yokohama, Yokosuka and Kobe areas, and then flew directly to Chinese mainland. Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle was awarded the U.S. Army's highest honor, the Medal of Honor, for this operation, and was promoted to brigadier general in July 1942. He then took up command positions in the North African and Mediterranean theaters. In 1944, he became commander of the U.S. 8th Air Force, with the rank of lieutenant general. By improving bomber escort tactics, he dealt a heavy blow to the luftwaffe and accelerated the collapse of the luftwaffe. Doolittle retired in 1946 and died in 1993.
■ Doolittle (front left) poses with other members of the air raid on the aircraft carrier Hornet.
It is worth mentioning that Doolittle and other members of the team involved in the air raid on the Japanese mainland received full rescue from the Chinese anti-Japanese military and civilians after parachuting and forced landing in China. In the end, 67 people, including Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle, were successfully rescued, and 5 people died during skydive and forced landing. Another 8 members of the team were unfortunately captured by the Japanese, 3 of whom were executed by the Japanese and 1 who died in the Japanese prisoner of war camp. After Dulitt and the crew members parachuted to land in the area of Xitianmu Mountain in Zhejiang Province, they were helped by Zhu Xueshan, a local primary school instructor who knew English, and safely arrived in Quzhou under the escort of local anti-Japanese armed forces, where they took a plane back to the United States. In retaliation for this bombing campaign and the Chinese soldiers and civilians who helped the Americans fly, the invading Japanese army launched the Battle of Zhejiang and Gansu, brutally killing more than 250,000 Chinese civilians.
■ The war movie "Decisive Battle for Midway", released in November 2019, depicts the story of Doolittle being rescued by Chinese soldiers and civilians. Doolittle in the film is played by American actor Alan Eckhard.
■ Tomb of General Doolittle.
The "Doolittle air raids" caused little actual damage to Japan, but they caused a serious psychological impact on the Japanese military, directly affecting the strategic decisions of the Japanese Navy, and indirectly leading to the outcome of the Battle of Midway two months later. When I saw General Doolittle's tombstone, the historical memory of that scene seemed to echo in front of me. I think that even if we knew that the Japanese army would carry out a cruel retaliation, the Chinese soldiers and civilians at that time would not regret helping these fighters who crossed the ocean to fight against the Japanese invaders. Whether it is the Chinese military or the American military, all of them have made great contributions to the world anti-fascist war. It is precisely because of this great spirit of not being afraid of difficulties and sacrifice that the Chinese nation can overcome aggression and stand among the nations of the world.