By the time you hear or read this essay, I will be on my way home from Arlington National Cemetery, where two family members will be interred one full year after their passing. Yes, the COVID pandemic had a profound effect on everything in our society, including funerals.
As a Civil War buff, I find a certain irony in knowing that the land was once the personal property of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Although Union forces occupied the land very early in the conflict, it would not become a cemetery until a few years later in the war. Often referred to as the Union's most hallowed ground, its quiet and dignified setting provides a final resting place for thousands of veterans.
The irony continues when you realize that Montgomery Meigs, who oversaw the cemetery project, was a Georgian who had served under Lee in the peacetime American Army. But Meigs remained loyal to the Union, and his own son -- killed in battle by Confederate forces -- would be buried there.
My maternal great-grandfather served in the Illinois Infantry during the war, but he is at rest just a few miles away in a quiet country graveyard. His contribution to the cause for freedom will not be forgotten either.
I'm Jim Kline, and that is my Perspective.
