Who Are the Ladies of Arlington
These women are Officer Wives from the Army, Navy and Air Force. They are all volunteers and they assure that there is in attendance someone to honor our fallen heroes, for each and every funeral. The tradition was started back in 1948 when Gladys Vandenberg, was walking the grounds of Arlington, on one bleak morning she witnessed the funeral of a young airman who was being laid to rest. His family could not be in attendance, and he was only being honored by the Chaplain and the Honor Guard, there were no other mourners there to pay their respects to this young man. Mrs. Vandenberg was disturbed by this occurrence, no fallen soldier should be laid to rest unattended. She enlisted the women of the Officer's Wives Club to assure that there would be someone there to honor the men and women who have given their all.
Some of these women, with their military escort will attend four to five funerals a day. Each of these ladies are there to pay their respects to our soldiers. They do not ask for recognition or pay. They do this as a means to show respect and gratitude.
The Airman and Soldiers will be placing a flag on each grave at Arlington this weekend, it takes almost two days to accomplish this task. Each flag stands in a straight line, and each person there is thus honored.
On this Memorial Day weekend, we should try to remember those who have gone before us, those who have given their all so that we may enjoy the freedoms we have. So while you are flipping your burgers, stop and think what this weekend is all about. Say a small thank you to those brave young men and women. I also want to thank the Ladies of Arlington for donating their time so that all of our service men and women are remembered.
Published by Cathy Pelekakis
Retiree from the Department of the Army, Procurement Analyst. Mother of one terrific son. Love to go to the movies, read books, work on the computer, gardening, my pets Samantha and Missy. I have been publ... View profile
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18 Comments
Post a Comment:) Thanks for sharing.
I saw a piece about the Ladies on TV. Wonderful work they are doing and very noble!
Great topic and article
Great tribute!!!!!
Thanks for this beautifully written and informative article. I must confess I have not heard of the Ladies of Arlington until now, but am so glad I now know more about them. Yes, let us not forget the true meaning of this solemn holiday. God bless.
Great article. Thanks for sharing this information.
Great information! Thanks for sharing this :-)
Thank you for sharing this. Many people probably do not know about the Ladies of Arlington.
What an amazing article. Thank you so much for sharing this information with us. I have always felt sad for the soldier who was alone. Now I know that they have someone when they have stepped over.
Excellent article. Thanks for sharing.