It didn't matter on this trip how close to her the relative was, I just wanted to bring the reality of the events from her history books into her personal space and make them touch her heart in new ways that would help her to hold onto the memories as the years went on, and this was one of those special stops. Of course, as it was most of the time we were gone, the temperature was at least 96 degrees that day, but it did nothing to dampen her enthusiasm as we entered Arlington.
In case you did not know this, if you have a family member buried there, you can go to a special desk inside the visitor's center to get the directions to their location, get a pass to put in your windshield, and are allowed to drive into the cemetery inside of walking. This even allowed us to park just feet from many of the famous stops inside Arlington as we went along in search of my mother's relative, who proved to be a bit elusive. The map we received did not match the eventual location, but the zeal of my daughter in finding him and his wife (didn't know spouses could be buried in Arlington until this) quickly made up for the errors in the map.
While she went charging down the road from the Kennedy's in her mission to find them, I happened to find the location of Admiral William (Bill) Halsey, who was the commander of the Pacific Fleet during World War II when my father was serving in the Navy.
George Clint Martin
Indiana Lieutenant
US Navy Worl War I & II
October 14 1885
July 30 1970
August 11 1885
June 28 1962
William Frederick Halsey
Fleet Admiral Unites States Navy
1882- 1959
His wife
Frances Grandy Halsey
1887- 1968
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