Arlington National Cemetery | ARLnow.com

Published May 23, 2012 at 4:50PM

This Monday, May 28, more than 100 volunteers from Memorial Day Flowers will hand out more than 50,000 roses at the cemetery. Visitors are given two roses, one to place on a grave, and one to take home in remembrance.

All of the flowers are donated by farmers throughout Ecuador. The idea was initiated by Ramiro Peñaherrera of Flowers for Kids. He’s part Ecuadorean and has family members buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Being that Ecuador is one of the largest rose producers in the world, he set out to get farmers there to donate roses for the cause.

Events

Arlington Cemetery to Hold Historic Taps Event

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 15, 2012 at 2:45PM

The anniversary of the National Song of Remembrance will be marked with a ceremony on Saturday, May 19, in the cemetery’s Old Amphitheater. There will be participants from TAPS 150, an organization devised to commemorate the anniversary, along with Bugles Across America, an organization to recruit volunteers for playing Taps at veterans’ funerals.

Hundreds of buglers from around the country will take part in the ceremony, which starts at 10:00 a.m. There will be speakers, special music and a playing of Taps at the event. After that, the buglers will move to sites throughout the cemetery to simultaneously play Taps following the noon chimes.

Around Town

Followup: Statesman’s Gravestone Still in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

Published May 7, 2012 at 2:05PM

Since we first reported on the gravestone last week, we’ve learned that it is a private cemetery marker that was apparently removed from Arlington National Cemetery after a new headstone was put in place following the 1988 death of Patterson’s wife. (See photo of current gravestone, left.)

In a statement, Arlington National Cemetery said it is not responsible for the handling of private headstones.

Around Town

Statesman’s Gravestone Sitting in Clarendon Construction Area

By ARLnow.com

Published May 2, 2012 at 12:20PM | Updated May 7, 2012 at 2:07PM

A weathered gravestone for Robert Porter Patterson, a top military official during World War II, can be seen propped up against an old building inside the future Penzance office construction site in Clarendon.

Patterson was the Undersecretary of War during World War II and is credited with being “instrumental in the mobilization of the armed forces preparatory to and during” the war. He later served as Secretary of War under President Harry Truman.

News

Navy Annex Set to Be Torn Down This Summer

By ARLnow.com

Published April 20, 2012 at 4:16PM | Updated October 23, 2012 at 12:45PM

Update on 10/23/12 — Demolition is now set to begin in November or December.

The 70-year-old Navy Annex complex, on the eastern end of Columbia Pike next to the Air Force Memorial, is set to be torn down starting next month.

News

Suspicious Package at Arlington Cemetery Metro Station

By ARLnow.com

Published January 25, 2012 at 12:00PM | Updated January 25, 2012 at 12:55PM

Update at 12:20 p.m. — The ‘all clear’ has been given, according to Arlington County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Gregg Karl.

Blue Line trains are bypassing the Arlington Cemetery Metro station due to a suspicious package outside the station.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 19, 2011 at 8:39AM

Mark Center Parking Capped — A roughly 2,000 spot parking cap is being put in place at the Mark Center in Alexandria, thanks to language placed in a federal appropriations bill. The cap should avert a feared traffic congestion nightmare around the Mark Center, located at the Seminary Road exit off of I-395. Thousands of Department of Defense jobs from Arlington and elsewhere are being transferred to the Mark Center, but transportation infrastructure improvement projects around the Center are still underway. [Rep. Jim Moran]

Ballston BID’s New Director — The new Ballston Business Improvement District formally announced last week that it has hired Tina Leone as its first executive director. Leone was previously president and CEO of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce. [Ballston BID]

News

Obama, Iraqi Leader Visit Arlington Nat’l Cemetery

By ARLnow.com

Published December 12, 2011 at 2:03PM

Maliki and the president participated in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, to honor American troops killed in Iraq. The visit coincides with the planned exit of nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of this month.

Traffic was blocked in the area of the Memorial Bridge during the roughly 30 minute visit. Arlington County police assisted with the closures.

News

Wreaths Arriving Saturday at Arlington Nat’l Cemetery

By ARLnow.com

Published December 9, 2011 at 3:16PM | Updated December 11, 2011 at 1:39PM

On Saturday morning more than 100,000 wreaths will arrive at Arlington National Cemetery. The wreaths will each be placed next to grave markers at the cemetery by teams of volunteers, and will remain there through the end of January.

It’s the biggest holiday wreath-laying yet, with more than three times more wreaths than last year. The wreaths are all funded by donations and shipped via tractor trailer from the Worcester Wreath Company in eastern Maine.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published November 30, 2011 at 8:20AM

Board Members Argue for New Taxing Powers — Arlington County Board members aren’t too pleased with the Republican-controlled state legislature’s reluctance to grant new taxing power to localities. County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman called Virginia Republicans “extremists” who want to “wreck government” by not giving localities enough ways to raise revenue. [Sun Gazette]

Arlington Accepts Homeland Security Grants — Arlington will accept nearly $1.35 million in federal homeland security grants, after receiving County Board approval last night. The grants will be used to purchase license plate reading equipment and mobile surveillance trailers, for use by law enforcement agencies throughout the National Capital Region. [Arlington County]

Around Town

Veterans Day in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published November 10, 2011 at 4:37PM

Arlington National Cemetery will hold its annual National Veterans Day Ceremony starting promptly at 11:00 tomorrow morning. The event begins with a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, then continues inside the adjacent Memorial Amphitheater with a parade of colors and remarks from dignitaries. President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are expected to attend and participate in the ceremony.

Elsewhere in Arlington County, most government offices will be closed for the holiday. County administrative offices, public libraries, courts, schools and nature centers are among the facilities scheduled to be closed. Parking meters will not be enforced.

News

No More Tourmobile Rides at Arlington Nat’l Cemetery

By ARLnow.com

Published November 2, 2011 at 4:25PM

Those recognizable, blue-and-white Tourmobile buses — which used to provide an authorized, narrated tour of the cemetery that included stops at the Kennedy gravesites, the Tomb of the Unknowns and Arlington House — stopped running yesterday. That leaves few options for tourists hoping for a less strenuous tour of the hilly, 624-acre cemetery.

The National Park Service says they’re hoping to find a replacement for the Tourmobiles.