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Lest
We Forget, Lest We Forget
A
Photographic Essay Remembering Sept 11
by
Scot Facer Proctor
Part 5, The Final Resting Place for Some of the Many Heroes
of 9-11
It was hard
to keep my composure as I came to 'Section 64' of Arlington National
Cemetery. We've heard the words "September 11th" said
hundreds of times in this past year and then to see every stone
with a death date of September 11th---I could hardly refrain from
weeping.
As I got down
on the ground to do this close up, with my hands holding the camera
close to my face I smelled the sweetest fragrance. At first I didn't
know where it came from. It was a lovely perfume and I realized
it was on my right hand. I smelled it again and the image of Mrs.
Burlingame came into my mind. It was from a half-an-hour before
when I had shaken hands with her. The fragrance rubbed off from
her hand onto mine. I thought about her beloved husband and how
he must have known that fragrance. Tears welled up in my eyes as
I considered her loss. The scent lingered on my hand for over an
hour. I tried to let my wife and children smell it when I got home
but it was gone. The experience was more vivid and more real because
of it.
I
read the words from each of the 57 stones placed here. There wasn't
one that I didn't feel to salute, to say "thank you,"
to say, "I'm sorry," to say, "You have not died in
vain. We will not forget you. I promise."
I had a number
of friends in the Pentagon on Tuesday, September 11th, 2001, but
then again, I guess we all did.
I love the American
flag. I love this nation. I love these heroes. The hope of the resurrection
through the atonement of Jesus Christ gave me joy in these moments
of visiting this sacred and holy place.
Section 64 is
not the most beautiful part of the cemetery. But, for us who are
living right now, it seems to be currently the most significant.
All the graves
in the immediate foreground are from 9-11. When this jet flew over
it startled me a bit because my thoughts were so deeply fixed upon
September 11th.
For those of
you who will never come here I wanted to show you the proximity
of these graves to the Pentagon. The Pentagon is right there in
the background, less than ½ a mile away.
My heart would
not stop pounding as I tried to photograph this sacred site from
every angle.
I never knew
in my lifetime I would see such a site as this.
The terrorists
made a grave mistake, not just in perpetrating our nation's security
with such an evil act, but in miscalculating the hearts of our people.
This scene will
not be here for long. The wooden box will be unveiled to reveal
a simple monument that will commemorate September 11, 2001 and especially
be for those five who were killed at the Pentagon for whom no remains
could be found: Colonel Ronald F. Golinski, USA (Ret.); Mrs. Rhonda
S. Rasmussen, Army Civilian (GS-13) and member of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; ET1 Ronald J. Hemenway, USN;
Mr. James T. Lynch, Jr., Navy Civilian (GS 11); and little Miss
Dana Falkenberg (3 yrs old), Passenger Flt 77.
God Bless America.
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© 2002 Meridian
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