Tag Archives: Riverside National Cemetery

Memorial Day Weekend

Here in the U.S.A. we are at the beginning of our Memorial Day Weekend with Monday May 25th being a national Memorial Day holiday.

When we were in Southern California for our nephews wedding in 2012 we made a special trip to Riverside National Cemetery where Dear’s father was buried in October of 1985, just a couple months before our Katie was born. Today I’m sharing some very dramatic memorials from the cemetery for this Memorial Day Weekend.

When the Warrior Returns

When the warrior returns, from the battle afar,
To the home and the country he nobly defended,
O! Warm be the welcome to gladden his ear,
And loud be the joy that his perils are ended:
In the full tide of song let his fame roll along,
To the feast-flowing board let us gratefully throng,
Where, mixed with the olive, the laurel shall wave,
And form a bright wreath for the brows of the brave.

~ Francis Scott Key

We thank God our son-in-law, our warrior returned from his perils.

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Riverside National Cemetery is the third-largest cemetery managed by the National Cemetery Administration, and since 2000 has been the most active in the system based on the number of interments. It was established in 1976 through the transfer of 740 acres from March Air Force Base, which during World War II was called the U.S. Army’s Camp William G. Haan. The cemetery was dedicated and opened for burials Nov. 11, 1978. An additional 181 acres was transferred by the Air Force in 2003.

The dramatic, meandering landscape features a central boulevard with memorial circles, lakes, indigenous-styled committal shelters, and a memorial amphitheater.

Riverside National cemetery is home of the Medal of Honor Memorial and one of four sites recognized as a National Medal of Honor Memorial Site. The Medal of Honor Memorial, whose walls feature the names of all medal recipients, is located at the third traffic circle in the cemetery. It was dedicated in 1999.

Walking up to the Medal of Honor Memorial you see each of the seals of the branches of service. Of course we have our favorite…

Several Medal Honor Recipients are buried at this cemetery.

The Fallen Soldier/Veterans’ Memorial, erected in 2000, is dedicated to all service members who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. The dramatic bronze structure topped by a lifeless soldier is located near the lake at the entrance to the cemetery.

This and the POW/MIA Memorial were very moving…

The Prisoner of War/Missing in Action National Memorial was designated as a national memorial by the U.S. Congress in 2004 through Public Law 108-454. The memorial was dedicated on September 16, 2005. Vietnam veteran Lewis Lee Millett, Jr., sculpted the bronze statue which depicts an American serviceman on his knees with hands bound by his captors. The statue is surrounded by black marble pillars that evoke imprisonment.

While we were at the cemetery we had an unexpected treat. See everyone looking up? March Air Force Base was hosting an air show this weekend and we got a wonderful view of the Patriots Jet Team.

Hope you have a meaningful Memorial Day weekend.

Memorial Day Weekend

 We take time to stop and remember the sacrifices that have been made for our freedom.

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This weekend we remember those who served our country and died in combat. This is the Veteran’s Memorial at the Riverside National Cemetery in Southern California.

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IMGP7120Part of our family was able to spend some time at this cemetery in May of 2012. Dear’s father is buried here and we had never seen his grave marker.

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There were many sobering monuments at this National Cemetery. The Veterans Memorial was one of them. Another sobering monument was the POW/MIA monument.

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We remember that this isn’t just a long weekend and a barbecue but a significant time that has been set aside on our calendars to acknowledge that sacrifices have been made for our nation and our well being.

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We do also plan to celebrate the living this weekend with a barbecue timed strategically between the rain showers! What are your plans?

C is for Cemeteries

Some of the places that I like to visit when we travel are cemeteries. I only enjoy very old cemeteries. Here is a sampling from several of the cemeteries I’ve visited.

Alton to Cotswolds 199St. James Church in Chipping Campden (Cotswolds) U.K. September 2013

IMGP9396Monumentale Cemetery in Milan, Italy March of 2013

IMGP7563Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois May of 2012

IMGP7117IMGP7115Riverside National Cemetery California May 2012. My Father in law is buried at this cemetery.

Arlington National Cemetery May 2011

Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia October 2012

Ivy Lawn Cemetery in Ventura, California

Calvary Cemetery ~ Seattle June 2008

Crosses could have been an added theme for the letter C. I wouldn’t mind re-visiting some of these cemeteries. I have a goal in my head to visit a very old cemetery covered in snow…

Hope your week is going well.

I’m joining in the fun at ABC Wednesday click over to see more Letter C posts!

I Will Never Forget…

I will never forget this day. Where I was, what I did, who I talked to. My TV was still in my living room in Washington in 2001. I sat on the edge of an ottoman in shock. I started dialing, first my husband, then my married son and his wife, (they were married 2 weeks before 9/11.  I woke my 2 kids that were still at home. That day seemed like it would never end. Called my SIL to find out if she’d heard anything from my niece who was working in Manhattan. My niece was in route to Manhattan, no one at work had seen her yet. She wasn’t a casualty that day. She made it. She had to turn around and try to get home again. It took her over 6 hours to get home. Small price to pay compared to so many…

Praying that God will continue to lead and direct our leaders in how best to protect the people they are called to serve. Praying that God will protect us from evil. Also praying that God will build us up to be able to persevere and endure whatever suffering comes our way.

And now all these years later we have our dear Son in Law who will be deployed very soon to Afghanistan for his second time. We pray that God will protect him and all of the Bravo Company.

Numbers 6:24-26 (ESV) and (The Message)

The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

and from the Message Version…

God bless you and keep you,

25 God smile on you and gift you,

26 God look you full in the face
    and make you prosper.

Photo credit: Jeremy Leffel Photography

Thank you to all who serve and protect including our Military, Border Patrol, Police, Firemen, Coast Guard!

The Heron…

Because of the rain and wind here in Chicago I don’t have photos to share today from Chicago but here are some shots of the Heron we enjoyed at the Riverside National Cemetery last Saturday.

When we arrived in Chicago yesterday we had one of those weird taxi experiences in getting to the hotel.  There were 5 car fresheners in the back seat with us but that really didn’t help. The good news is that we made it to our downtown hotel and after we got settled into our nice room that doesn’t need air fresheners we had a lovely meal with some great friends from Seattle who are living in a suburb north of Chicago.

Friday morning we are going to choose an indoor venue to explore while we wait for the rain to move on.

Happy June to you all!

Air Show Surprise…

I mentioned before and shared that when we were in Southern California for Levi and Kristin’s wedding we made a morning trip on the day of the wedding to the Riverside National Cemetery to find Dear’s dad’s grave. While we were there visiting all the amazing memorials and monuments we were treated to the Patriot’s Jet Team who were performing at the nearby March Air Force Base. What a special treat this was…

We were standing here and looking up at the Patriots and Laura said “Now all they need to do is form a heart for Levi and Kristin since it’s their wedding day” and sure enough just after she said that this is what we saw!

We were quite impressed that they could hear Laura’s request from so high up in the sky.

This was a wonderful family time and we appreciated everything we experienced together this day. We missed Dan and Andrew this time but we will have other special times with them. We trust the Lord for that…

This is going to be a short week at home for us. Here we are in the last week of May already! Yikes! How are things going where you are?

A Time to Remember…

Memorial Day is a time to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives in service to insure our freedom. Dear’s father Rex served in the army during WWII. He was not among the countless number who lost their lives during service but we are very grateful to all who gave the ultimate sacrifice.  Our son in law Andrew is serving as a Marine and our appreciation grows daily for the all of the men and women who serve our country in the military. As we speak Andrew is involved in Fleet Week in New York. We hope our military are treated well on the streets of New York. I’m adding this link from Pat at Mille Fiori that she posted from Fleet Week and she captured two great shots of the ship our son-in-law Andrew is on, the U.S.S. Wasp. Semper Fi! And for the record from what we’ve heard from Andrew, New York has been very welcoming to our boys!

Dear’s father Rex’s service in 1985 was under a pavilion at the Riverside National Cemetery and we had never had a chance to visit his actual graveside. When we were at our nephew’s wedding last weekend we had a chance to visit the cemetery and find Rex’s graveside. We do not have a family tradition to spend time at gravesides as we hope in the fact that our loved ones are not here but with the Lord. It was still a good experience to finally see Rex’s gravestone.

The cemetery has a kiosk where you type in your loved ones name and they print out a site map on where you can find the graveside. We were impressed with how easy it was to find Rex’s buriel site. Here is a link to a post on the moving memorials featured at the Riverside National Cemetery.

Even though we know our loved one who is identified with Christ is not in this grave, it’s still gratifying to see what a peaceful setting his gravestone is situated in.

The whole time we were at the cemetery we kept looking up because there was an airshow at March Air Force Base which donated land for the Riverside National Cemetery and is adjacent to the cemetery.

After a hike and some good scouting by Dear and our daughter Katie we found Rex’s gravestone.

It really was good to finally see where Rex was buried. I was 7+ months pregnant with Katie for Rex’s funeral and a lot of this time was sketchy for me.

This was a very nice family time for us all in between all the fun celebration time with our extended family for our nephew’s/cousin’s wedding. While we were at the cemetery we had the wonderful experience to enjoy some amazing aerial views from an airshow at March Air Force Base.

From the cemetery we met up with extended family for lunch at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse in Moreno Valley. What a great weekend it was to connect with family and get a special weekend time with Katie from North Carolina.

I’m joining in with Mary at Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Hope all of you in the U.S.A. have had a moment to stop and consider and appreciate the memory of those who have laid down their lives for us…

A very meaningful Memorial Day to all of you!

Riverside National Cemetery

When we were in Southern California for our nephews wedding we made a special trip to Riverside National Cemetery where Dear’s father was buried in October of 1985 just a couple months before our Katie was born. I’ll post more photos of our search for Rex’s grave on Monday. Today I’m sharing some very dramatic memorials from the cemetery for this Memorial Day Weekend.

Riverside National Cemetery is the third-largest cemetery managed by the National Cemetery Administration, and since 2000 has been the most active in the system based on the number of interments. It was established in 1976 through the transfer of 740 acres from March Air Force Base, which during World War II was called the U.S. Army’s Camp William G. Haan. The cemetery was dedicated and opened for burials Nov. 11, 1978. An additional 181 acres was transferred by the Air Force in 2003.

The dramatic, meandering landscape features a central boulevard with memorial circles, lakes, indigenous-styled committal shelters, and a memorial amphitheater.

Riverside National cemetery is home of the Medal of Honor Memorial and one of four sites recognized as a National Medal of Honor Memorial Site. The Medal of Honor Memorial, whose walls feature the names of all medal recipients, is located at the third traffic circle in the cemetery. It was dedicated in 1999.

Walking up to the Medal of Honor Memorial you see each of the seals of the branches of service. Of course we have our favorite…

Several Medal Honor Recipients are buried at this cemetery.

The Fallen Soldier/Veterans’ Memorial, erected in 2000, is dedicated to all service members who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. The dramatic bronze structure topped by a lifeless soldier is located near the lake at the entrance to the cemetery.

This and the POW/MIA Memorial were very moving…

The Prisoner of War/Missing in Action National Memorial was designated as a national memorial by the U.S. Congress in 2004 through Public Law 108-454. The memorial was dedicated on September 16, 2005. Vietnam veteran Lewis Lee Millett, Jr., sculpted the bronze statue which depicts an American serviceman on his knees with hands bound by his captors. The statue is surrounded by black marble pillars that evoke imprisonment.

While we were at the cemetery we had an unexpected treat. See everyone looking up? March Air Force Base was hosting an air show this weekend and we got a wonderful view of the Patriots Jet Team.

I’ll be sharing a lot more photos of the Patriots later next week.

On Monday I’ll share more from our time at the cemetery.

We are going to go on a little adventure on Saturday morning before we hunker down to do some work around this old house. Hope your weekend is going well.