News>National cemetery honors veterans past and present
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Tech. Sgts. Ryan Hoke (left) and Jason Litalien straighten headstones May 15 at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio. These volunteers were helping to prepare the cemetery for Armed Forces Day and the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. The sergeants are assigned to the Air Force News Agency in San Antonio. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons)
Airmen volunteers straighten headstones May 15 at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio. This process aligns and straightens all the headstones and prepares the cemetery for funerals and the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Airmen assigned to the Air Force News Agency in San Antonio spent the day adjusting the headstones. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Larry A. Simmons)
5/25/2007 - SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- Here, the living communicate with the dead.
Parents talk to sons and daughters now gone. Widows update spouses on the day's activities. Friends visit never quite as much as they should. Some bring flowers. All grieve.
But more important, they remember. They remember those who gave their lives to the nation and now lay side-by-side with their comrades who did the same.
This is life -- and death -- at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, where nearly 114,000 military men and women and their spouses are buried.
"It's overwhelming how many headstones there are," said one visitor.
And more and more are added every day. While the cemetery is a place of respite, it does not rest ... the graves come quickly.
"We have burials here virtually every day," said William Trower, the cemetery's director. "We've had as many as 18 burials in one day."
Despite its size, the cemetery is known for its orderliness and precision. Headstones are aligned horizontally and vertically, long rows of white marble punctuated by oak, crepe myrtle and pecan trees. The lawn, which is mowed 42 times a year, is meticulously manicured. Flowers brought by family members are removed at the first sign of decay.
"For many of these people who are buried here, these headstones are all that remain to remind the world of their existence," Mr. Trower said. "And the same is true for their families. These headstones are a concrete object they can touch and feel a connection to that loved one buried there."
Taking care of these headstones and keeping the cemetery beautiful is one way to honor those interred within its soil, he said.
During the Memorial Day weekend, Mr. Trower and his staff take the time to place an American Flag on each grave -- a lone sentry guarding the veteran buried beneath.
Memorial Day is a special one for those at the cemetery. It is the embodiment of all that this burial ground stands for -- remembering those military men and women who have gone before.
Still, the atmosphere of the cemetery is not one of despair, but of quiet reverence. It is a place of heroes, of legends, of pioneers. To walk among the headstones is to walk among giants.
In section Q lays Capt. William Randolph, for whom Randolph Air Force Base was named, 27 Buffalo Soldiers from the 9th and 10th Calvary rest in section PE, and 12 Medal of Honor recipients are scattered throughout the cemetery that stretches over 150 acres.
Keeping the memory of these men alive is what the cemetery is all about.
"It's a major task," Mr. Trower said, "but worth it."
Here, the dead are remembered through a solid block of white marble, an inscription and the memory of those who visit.
