Arlington

We just left Arlington Veterans Cemetery, we saw the perpetual flame for JFK as well as the tomb of the unknown soldier. We not only got to see a changing of the guard we got to witness a wreath laying ceremony at the tomb.

This is a very surreal place to be, or it would be if not for the excessive amount of rude and loud tweens that are taken their as part of their school trips. Honestly I wonder if this should be part of their trip, since as an 8th grader it seemed majority of the kids did not or could not appreciate the gravity of the
location. I actually overheard one kid say "if the teachers think i need to lose weight they should have just made me walk on a tread mill" I seriously wanted to walk over to the kid and give them an earful...but i was sure it would have gone in one ear and out the other.

The odd part was there were a few younger groups there, maybe 5th or 6th graders and those students seemed to be taking it much more seriously asking legitimate questions of their guide.

The guides on the other hand are a whole other story...i heard one say "you will see a bunch of stone that don't have crosses on them those and the ones with the funny stars are all for the Jews who got to be buried here" first off it is a Star of David, and 'got to be buried' makes it sound like they should be privileged to be here, no is privilege to be buried anywhere, it means you are dead. Additionally the Star of David marks the Jewish graves, those unmarked belong to those who either did not declare a religion, or are of a religion which does not have a symbol or is not recognized officially by the military...children should be taught that all soldiers are soldiers and religion should not be a factor when it comes to the honor of serving in the military.