M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

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 vein. 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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