OPINION: Arlington Cemetery is a national treasure — it should not be debased
Arlington National Cemetery, the nation’s largest resting place for America’s heroes, is sacred ground for our veterans. As we commemorate Veterans Day this year, we should turn our thoughts and pay our respects to the many Idahoans who have been laid to rest in that hallowed ground.
They include two Congressional Medal of Honor winners. Colonel Reginald Rodney Myers, who was born in Boise, earned the MOH for valor in the vicious Battle of Chosin Reservoir in Korea in November of 1950. First Lieutenant Vernon J. Baker, who was born in Wyoming, but lived his last 15 years in Idaho, received the MOH for conspicuous valor near Viareggio, Italy, in April of 1945. His award came 52 years late because of his black skin. A number of Idahoans from Vietnam and subsequent wars are interred in the peaceful environs of Arlington.
I’ve been to Arlington many times since my Vietnam service. Every time I saw the grave marker of a Vietnam comrade, I was flooded with profound grief and anger for the 58,220 American lives taken by that ill-fated war, including 251 with Idaho connections. Those emotions were always somewhat assuaged by the quiet, dignified atmosphere of the Cemetery. That calming atmosphere is currently facing a serious threat from another Donald Trump vanity project.
Trump’s 250-foot-tall triumphal arch will sit smack dab in front of Arlington Cemetery, destroying its peace and tranquility, as well as the symmetry and symbolism of its location. The National Park Service dared to report that the arch “would break alignment between the Lincoln Memorial, Memorial Bridge and Arlington House that was Robert E. Lee’s home.” It continued: “The bridge alignment and associated ceremonial landscape were intended to physically and symbolically unite North and South through a coordinated monumental composition extending across the Potomac River.”
Trump admitted last October that the monument was intended to honor “me” but later claimed it was to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary. As he has continued to take flak for the project, Trump and his lackeys now contend it is required for the national defense. We already have a national defense project in the grand ballroom adjacent to the White House, but that does not seem to be sufficient in the president’s mind. In a shameful attempt to get around building restrictions, he now claims the arch will be laden with drones, snipers and machine guns so as to protect Washington from attack. If he had the slightest understanding of military tactics, he would understand that his arch would make an indefensible sitting-duck target.
Not everyone is keen for Trump’s vanity arch. Three Vietnam War veterans have filed suit in federal court to stop construction. One of the veterans said his opposition is an act of loyalty to the country and our fallen service members. The District of Columbia and Virginia have also brought suit against the arch.
The courts will likely rule against this vanity project, but that may not be enough. Citizens and veterans must raise their voices and demand that the Cemetery not be debased just to satisfy the vanity of a failed president. Perhaps the Congressmen and Senators still standing after the midterm elections will find the courage to speak out against this slap in the face to the nation’s veterans that we honor on November 11.
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Jim Jones is a Vietnam combat veteran who served eight years as Idaho Attorney General (1983-1991) and 12 years as Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court (2005-2017). He also publishes at substack.com/@jjcommontater