Veteran's Day 2011 at Arlington National Cemetery

Being stationed in Washington D.C. has some amazing perks to it! There is so much happening here and we get to experience it all! Starting right away. This Veteran's Day we had the opportunity to experience the day in a unique and very special way. It started off with the Seabee Memorial. So to give you a little background... Andy is in the CEC (Civil Engineer Corp) of the Navy. When CEC members are deployed they are called Seabees and are apart of a construction battalion.  This memorial honors Seabees who were killed in actions and who serve. There were several retired Seabees there along with the Commanding Officer of the CEC. In fact every head guy of the CEC was there and it was very cool to get to meet some of these men! Here are some pictures of the wreath laying ceremony at the Seabee Memorial.

This is jokingly referred to as the JOPA (Junior Officer Protection Agency). Basically these are other Ensigns and JGs that work in NAVFAC Washington with Andy.

After the Seabee Memorial wreath laying we decided to venture back into Arlington and see the National Wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns with our friends Josh and Kati (Josh graduated from OCS with Andy and is stationed in DC as well). We had no idea what we were going to see but figured it was worth trying out. So we went back and saw that everyone was entering an ampetheatre. So we did too...

This is right outside the Tomb of the Unknowns. And when we sat down we realized what we were not sure of... we were going to see the President! I mean 2 days in DC and already seeing the President! Super cool! The President lays a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns and then comes inside the theatre to give his Veteran"s Day speech. So we did not get to see him lay the wreath but did get to see him give his speech.

The First Lady watching the President give his speech.

It was an awesome day! I wish I could express what the day felt like there. There was such a reverence for the men and women who have fought and paid the greatest sacrifice for our country that they could. It was such an honor to be surrounded by so many people who have served and currently are serving. I don't think we could ever realize what has truly been sacrificed to secure the freedoms that we currently enjoy. I am grateful for anyone who has served in any capacity and especially proud of my amazing husband. He and every other service person serves knowing what it could cost them. Although Veteran's Day is a wonderful day to thank them, we should do so each and everyday!