Ghosts of Arlington Podcast

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Every year since 1992, Morrill Worcester, a wreath make from Maine, has been traveling to Arlington National Cemetery to lay wreaths on headstones in December. A viral photo in 2005 lead to the 2007 formation of the non-profit organization Wreaths Across America. If you would like to find out how to get involved, visit the website www.wreath...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here This week's marathon episode fulfills my promise back in Episode 9 to tell the story of the men of the Allied Expeditionary Forces who selected the WWI Unknown Soldier and returned his remains to the United States for burial at Arlington. I also get to talk a little about my experience laying flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier a...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here The fascinating conclusion to the story of the race to the North Pole between Robert Peary and Matthew Henson, and their chief rival Dr. Fredrick Cook. This week’s Ghost of Arlington are:  Navy Rear Admiral Robert Edwin Peary (Section 8, Lot 15) Josephine Peary (Section 8, Lot 15) Matthew Henson (Section 8, Lot 15) Lucy Henson (Section 8, Lo...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here I always remember being taught in school that the first person to reach the geographical North Pole was US Rear Admiral Robert Peary, but as with most events in world history, the truth isn't as cut and dry as that.  This is part one of my attempt to set that record straight. Here are the websites with more information about next week&a...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here John Wesley Powell isn't usually mentioned in the same breath as Lewis and Clark, but he should be. His expedition through the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon put the last uncharted area of the contiguous United States on the map. And he did it all with one arm... well, not tied behind his back, but amputated two inches below the elb...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Frank Powers was shot down over Russia while flying the iconic U-2 airplane on a reconnaissance mission in 1960. He was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 10 years in Soviet prison but was eventually exchanged for a Russian spy captured several years earlier. Upon returning home, Frank was both privately and publicly praised and denigra...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here If you were to ask an American what the worst nuclear accident in the United States was, if they even have an answer, they would probably say Three Mile Island. Most Americans are unaware that in January 1961, a reactor an isolated Idaho desert went supercritical and killed two soldiers and a sailor. This is the story of the SL-1 reactor exp...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here In this episode I make a case that the first American KIA in Vietnam didn't happen 1956, but rather in 1945. Am I crazy or is there some merit to my argument? You make the call! Also, I am headed out of town for some much needed R&R and this will be last episode for two weeks. This week’s Ghost of Arlington is:  Army Lieutenant Colo...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here With the exponential increase in terrorism over the last 30+ years, it is easy to remember the more recent events, but sometimes the events that happened longer ago fade to the background - last week I said that has probably happened to large extent with the US Marines killed in Beirut in 1983. It has also likely happened with those killed i...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here For someone a month away from his 21st birthday when it happened, I can't believe it has been 20 years since 9/11. This week's episode just happens to talk about what went on in the cemetery day, less than 400 yards from the Pentagon, and what the last two decades have looked like. I didn't plan for this episode to drop on thi...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Did you know that from the moment his remains were recovered, the Air Force officer eventually buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns was known to be 1st Lt. Michael Blassie? So how did he come to be later identified as X-26 and designated the Vietnam War's Unknown Soldier? If you listen to this week's episode, I will discuss just that...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here This week we talk about the most visited site at Arlington National Cemetery, President John F. Kennedy's grave - after his burial, everything changed. This week’s Ghost of Arlington are: President John F. Kennedy (Section 45, Grave S-45) Jacquelin Kennedy Onassis (Section 45, Grave S-45)  Senator Robert F. Kennedy (Section 45, Grave S-...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here I reflect just a little on the fall of Kabul to the Taliban then get back to business with how the Korean War put the recovery efforts of WWII fallen on hold and after the Korean War, recovery teams were cleaning up after two wars. Because the efforts were simultaneous, the Unknows from WWII and Korea were interred in a single ceremony. This...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Recovery efforts for WWII remains were well underway when the Korean War broke out in 1950 and put a halt to them. When that war ended, in 1953, the US Army was working to recover fallen Americans from two wars. As a result, the Unknown Soldiers from WWII and Korea were interred simultaneously. Also, sometimes a real-life Rambo does survive...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here We've got 1930s newsreel sound clips this week (Fancy!) which talk about the time the US Army attack US WWI veterans in Washington, DC on the order of the US president... true story. If you don't know about the Bonus Army in 1932, you need to hear it; not exactly the "support our troops" mentality of politicians today. Oh...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here This week we cover the selection of an unidentified American World War I soldier who was returned from Europe to be buried in The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Armistice Day 1921. This week’s Ghost of Arlington is: The World War I Unknown Soldier  Also, a very special thanks to Mountain Up Cap Company for its...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Eeek! The podcast was plugged by Doctrine Man, himself. How cool is that?!?! A screen shot is absolutely on the website. Also, we didn't quite make it to the story of the Unknown Soldier like I thought we would - but next week for sure. We do talk about the plans - and the planner - behind the construction of Washington, DC, the first U...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here First off, an apology. For some reason, the audio got wonky in the final third of the show. I cleaned it up the best I could but as I have said before, I really don't have any idea what I'm doing when it comes to this. This week we talk about the Spanish American War and the approval to bury Confederate dead in the cemetery. This w...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here This is the second of our two-part story about the life of Montgomery Meigs. Many people with high-profile positions in the US Civil have praised  Meigs as an unsung hero of the Civil War, saying without his expert management of Union logistics, the war could have had a very different outcome. He continued to leave his mark on Washington, DC...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here This week's episode is the first of a two-part story about the life of Brevet Major General Montgomery C. Meigs,, covering his birth to just before the outbreak of the Civil War, with a major focus on his two most enduring pre-war engineering projects: The Capitol Expansion and Dome, and the Washington Aqueduct project. For more informa...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here After the Supreme Court ruled that Custis Lee was the legal owner of Arlington and the US Government was forced to give the property back, how did it end up back in government hands?  This week's ghost of Arlington is:  Army First Lieutenant John Meigs, the 22-year-old son of the father of Arlington National Cemetery, General Montgomery...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here First off, there is a partial retraction (or at least a semi-correction) of last week's story of the origin of Taps... that didn't take long! Then, after years of unsuccessful attempts to recover the property and buildings of the former Arlington plantation, the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Lee family. So, what is the US Gov...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here This week we discuss some of the firsts in Arlington's history - including the first burial, the first burial with family present, the first burial of a combat casualty, the first burial of a draftee, and the first officer burial. Included is also the history of arguably history's most famous bugle call, Taps.  This Week's Gho...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here This week we talk a little about what Arlington National Cemetery looks like today, what the property started out as, and why a national cemetery was needed next to Washington, DC in the first place. This Week's Ghosts of Arlington are: George Washington Parke Custis  (Section 13, Grave 6513) Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis (Section 13, Grave...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here I was surprised when I looked for an Arlington National Cemetery-themed podcast a few years ago and could not find one. Now, after procrastinating long enough, I have decided to make one myself. Do I know anything about podcasting? No. But I certainly have the skills necessary for audio recording and mixing, right? Absolutely not. Then again...