Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery Offers Tragic Testimony to America's Most Recent Wars

Thank you, my friend SSG Jeffrey Leake for posting the link to the background on Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery and the book by Robert M. Poole,
Image: Arlington National Cemetery Map.

"Section 60 in Arlington National Cemetery, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is the final resting place of the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in America's most recent wars, especially Iraq and Afghanistan. The emotions it inspires, intensified every November 11 on Veterans Day, are raw. Its stories, heartbreaking.
Robert M. Poole, a former executive editor of National Geographic, spent several years listening to those stories for his new book, Section 60: Where War Comes Home. Speaking from his home in Vermont, he explains why he wanted to commemorate this patch of hallowed ground, why it takes years of practice to fold a ceremonial flag, and why Section 60 is one of the few places in America where it's considered normal to talk to the dead.
What is Section 60?
Section 60 is a small part of a much larger story. It's a piece of Arlington Cemetery, roughly 14 acres out of 624. It's most notable as the place where a lot of the people killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. So a walk through Section 60 is a way to get to know some of the people who served there—what they did, what brought them to Arlington, and what their friends and families do to mourn their loss—but also to get on with life. My idea for this book was to use Section 60 as a way to talk about our most recent conflicts: how they are different from earlier conflicts, and how they are at the same time much the same."

FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown LTC Greg Henning LTC Jeff Shearer Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Maj Marty Hogan CPT Scott Sharon CWO3 Dennis M. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSG William Jones SGT (Join to see) SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski PO1 H Gene Lawrence PO2 Kevin Parker PO3 Bob McCord

I am sure that the loved one left behind will not fully mend because there is a void in their broken hearts.

This is a hard place to visit. It remains the hallowed ground that the nation can recall the dead in reverence for their deeds and never forget these brave men and women.