[“Decorating a soldier's grave in one of the Negro sections on Memorial day.” Photograph by Esther Bubley. Arlington Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. May 1943. From the New York Public Library Digital Collections. Click for a much larger view.]
Esther Bubley (1921–1998) was a photojournalist and documentary photographer.
Monday, May 27, 2024
Memorial Day
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comments: 4
A separate Black section, eh?
Something I like about General George Patten is that, by his request I think, his grave is indisquishable from the men he served among. In contrast General Rommel has a separate big gothic cross, in I think a separate roadside place (I was there, back in the 1970's)
in contrast to the convoluted "don't ask, don't tell" thing of President Clinton, President Truman integrated the armed forces with a single page document that included how it would be enforced.
i worked in rosslyn and would walk to the arlington national cemetery and the iwo jima memorial during lunch. we would enter the cemetery from a side metal gate (probably now closed) and wander the grounds. one time we saw the unknown soldier as well jfk's grave. i didn't realize that the baby they lost was also buried there.
the grave markers are so impressive in their straightness. i never knew that there were separate sections.
alexandria va also has a national cemetery but not of the size of arlington.
memorial day in dc was always special.
kirsten
I thought that photograph would say a lot about the possible relationship between persons and a nation. (What does it mean to fight and die in the service of a country that treats you as other?)
KIrsten, thanks for sharing those recollections here.
I didn’t know that there were separate sections either. Esther Bubley did a service to the future by photographing this moment.
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