Graves without bodies

Arlington National Cemetery looking out over the Potomac and Washington DC







I was honored recently to spend a few days in our nations capitol. While I've been there many times, I've never had a chance to visit Arlington Cemetery - this time I got my wish. There were a few things I wanted to see for sure;

• Tomb of the Unknowns and the changing of the guard
• President Kennedy's burial place, and
• Robert E. Lees estate

Definitely the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns is worth the trip all by itself - the obvious dedication of the 'Old Guard' along with the tradition of military precision leaves you with a sense of pride and honor.

Arlington is a quiet place as you can imagine. The white grave markers carefully placed in straight diagonal rows and the rolling hills along with the beautiful sunny day, really made my day.

Theres a large section of grave markers at Arlington, that are closely placed next to each other - noticeably too close for anyone to have been buried there. Curious, I looked around for an explanation and found a marker which stated these were the graves of men and women who died in combat but their bodies had never been recovered. You may remember big band legend Glen Miller whose plane went down during WWII - his grave marker is in this section.

Do you know what this section of the cemetery reminded me of?

The impoverished, incarcerated, homeless and addicted brothers and sisters of our communities - our neighbors.

They're very much like this section of graves without bodies. These men and women have experienced death. Death of hope, joy, a meaningful life - death of family or future. Now they are so forgotten and faceless, we seem to already have placed a marker in the ground and said to each other, and of them; 'you're dead'.

It doesn't have to be this way - there's still time and if there's time, there's hope. When you get involved in the systemic issues of the life a person, bring about real solution and offer your support in their recovery - you remove a marker from the ground of our community. You say by your actions and your behavior; 'The body has been found, they're not dead'.

To be involved, or to learn how you can be involved - contact us. We'll train you, support you and help you realize the joy of life transformation.

Dan