Comments on: Powerful Monuments to Service

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:45:17 +0000

FYI:
This link lists all the VA approved ‘emblems of belief’ for gravestones in national cemeteries:

http://www.cem.va.gov/hm/hmemb.asp

By: Karen H.

Karen H. — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:39:04 +0000

john f. in #7, Amen.

John Hamer, this is an excellent post. I remember looking through these with you after your visit to Arlington, and am thrilled to see it go up in a post. I agree with you about the feeling of cemetaries being hallowed ground. I love spending time in them.

By: john f.

john f. — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:52:57 +0000

By the way, as to symbols, I would think the gravestone symbol depicted at the following link would be a better pick for the Mormon headstone: http://abev.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/our-dead-iv/

Having said that, I am a huge fan of reading Moroni as the angel of Revelation 14:6-7, in fact it is my belief that this is the case:

6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Given the prevalent belief among Latter-day Saints that this was fulfilled by the visits of the Angel Moroni to Joseph Smith, it makes for a fitting symbol of our religion.

By: john f.

john f. — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:45:54 +0000

One could almost say that the level of recognition (Anerkennung) of people's religious adherence or non-adherence in a nation's veterans' cemetaries is a barometer for how tolerant the society is. May we in the United States never forget what makes it possible for our society to be tolerant to the point of such recognition: the separation of Church and State.

By: John Hamer

John Hamer — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:23:11 +0000

Thanks, folks!

John F (4): Ft. Leavenworth is very close to Jackson County, Missouri, and the largest concentration of Community of Christ members. We were excited to find several examples of Community of Christ veterans buried there. Essentially, finding the diversity is as easy as finding the newest section of the cemetery.

We speculated that we would have found some of the other emblems, had we been able to visit some of the national cemeteries in California.

Syphax (5): It did take a while, but we really enjoyed hunting through the cemeteries. My understanding is that you’d certainly be allowed to pick the standard latin cross, which represents all of Christianity (including the LDS Church, if Mormons like you do want to claim it), rather than any one denomination. However, I think it’s very nice that the denomination-specific emblem is also available.

By: Syphax

Syphax — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:10:47 +0000

Great post. Amazing. You obviously put a lot of work into this.

Though I’m LDS, I would imagine a simple cross would work fine for me. I’m just not one of those cross-averse Latter-day Saints.

By: john f.

john f. — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:52:40 +0000

Great post — very cool project and pictures. How did it feel for you to happen across a Community of Christ headstone? That must have made your day!

By: ZD Eve

ZD Eve — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:28:53 +0000

One of my sisters is a family historian, and she, like my mother, can’t pass a cemetery without stopping to investigate.

I definitely didn’t inherit that trait, but I really enjoyed this post and the photographs. It’s fascinating, and moving, to see the increasing religious diversity represented.

By: Cap

Cap — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:46:38 +0000

What a wonderful and touching post. Thanks for sharing! It was very moving to see so many different faiths being represented and acknowledged. Wonderful post!

By: SteveP

SteveP — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:29:18 +0000

John this left a tear in my eye. Thank you for sharing this. My heart goes out to so many who have given so much–both those who gave their life and their families left behind. How meaningful to see so many faiths represented.