The Cemetery in the Fall

by

Header with a photo of Mari K. Eder on the left, the text "Ret. Major Gen. Mari K. Eder. Author, Speaker, Consultant at Benson's ReView" in the middle. And two book covers (The Girls Who Stepped Out Of Line and The Girls Who Fought Crime) on the right.

It is long past time for me to visit Arlington National Cemetery again. I have many friends there and haven’t been back there in way too long. We have much to talk about.

I want to see friends from my days at the Pentagon, a Navy friend from CHINFO, my former leader at the Army War College Foundation, and so many more.

I want to make my way to the gravesite of USMC Maj. Megan M. McClung, and pay my respects to this Public Affairs Officer. Hearing her story again several months ago at the Defense Department’s Public Affairs School (DINFOS) was a humbling reminder of her sacrifice.

Following a break in service, she returned to active duty with the 1 Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq in 2006. She was the chief Public Affairs Officer in Al Anbar Province. In December, in the final month of her second year-long deployment, she was escorting a Newsweek journalist when she was killed by an IED.

The first female Naval Academy graduate and first Marine Corps officer to be killed in Iraq, her headstone bears her legendary logo: “Be Bold. Be Brief. Be Gone.”

A person with light skin, blue eyes, and reddish-brown hair pulled back is smiling while wearing a military uniform with a camouflage pattern. The uniform has two rectangular insignia pins on the collar. The background shows an outdoor setting with indistinct structures and landscape

So many of my former colleagues have likewise moved on, heading to that final assignment. It is a sharp reminder for all of us that our time here is brief.

I also want to visit the gravesites of the fourteen members of the 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion who have been laid to rest in Arlington. These women were all World War II veterans of service overseas in the only all-female, all-Black unit to deploy during the war.

Their service was critical to the morale of service members engaged in the fight from Normandy to Germany during the war’s long closing days. They solved a years-long major morale issue when they got the mail moving again, and service members were able to hear from their families once more.

Fourteen known 6888 veterans are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. According to the Cemetery’s website, these are the veterans who were laid to rest there.

  • Gatha Louise Amos — Section 67, Grave 1603
  • Catherine Louise Bowie — Section 54, Grave 1432
  • Hortense Pollard Cole — Columbarium Court 7, Section NN, Column 19, Niche 1
  • Lila Virginia Burt Dale — Section 68, Grave 1308
  • Allie Harshaw — Section 64, Grave 5494
  • Margaret Y. Jackson — Columbarium Court 8, Section PP, Column 23, Niche 1
  • Margaret Ellen Barnes Jones — Columbarium Court 6, Section N1, Column 14, Niche 3
  • Annie B. Jordan — Section 3, Grave 4353-B
  • Willia G. Knighton — Section 64, Grave 6306
  • Mary Louise Peterson — Section 66, Grave 1657
  • Ardella C. Pitts — Section 59, Grave 1762
  • Mary Crawford Ragland — Columbarium Court 7, Section PP, Column 2, Niche 5
  • Bessie Lee Robinson — Section 43, Grave 887
  • Blanche L. Scott — Section 64, Grave 2962

The unit’s commander is not buried at Arlington. Lt. Col. Charity Adams Early lies with her husband, Stanley Earley, at Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum in Dayton, Ohio. Her legacy, as well as that of her trailblazing unit, continues to grow.

A black-and-white portrait of a smiling woman in a military uniform. She is wearing a peaked cap adorned with a badge and an emblem. Her buttoned-up jacket features insignias on the collar and has a row of buttons down the front. The background is plain and light-colored

I need to visit Maj. Stephanie Czech Rader’s grave in Section 11 again. She served undercover as a counterintelligence agent with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 1945-46.

She never talked about her dangerous assignment in Warsaw, but she made a difference in our diplomatic relations following the war.

Black and white photo of a smiling woman in a military uniform. She is wearing a peaked cap with an insignia, a buttoned shirt with lapels, and a tie. Her arms are crossed along a surface, revealing a ring and bracelet on her left hand. Her curly hair is tucked under the cap.

Then there’s the WASP.

A couple of years ago, I was fortunate to meet Erin Miller, granddaughter of WASP pilot Eliane Danforth Harmon. Her final request was to be buried at Arlington, but the WASP pilots were not recognized as veterans.

Erin Miller took her grandmother’s request as her own mission and fought relentlessly for the WASP veterans to receive the honor they deserved. It was a struggle that involved Congress and the President, but in the end, the WASP prevailed.

I want to visit the final resting place of WASP Elaine Harmon and Mildred Rexroat. Both are resting in Court 9 of the Columbarium. I’m certain I will find many of them and their colleagues there.

a grayscale photo shows a smiling woman with short, wavy hair. She wears a military uniform adorned with insignia and medals, including a winged badge above a nameplate. The woman appears confident and happy, standing against a lightly colored background.

There are so many trailblazing veterans to visit and so many incredible stories to tell. And why wait for Veterans Day in November, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, or Wreaths Across America in December?

Visit them now when the cemetery is quieter, before the national events that bring in crowds. After all, it is a family cemetery, too, and for all of us who are veterans, we are there to visit family.

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