Arlington National Cemetery in the news

Please accept my humble apology. I have fallen so far behind in my blog! It was my intent to post at least weekly, if not more often. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by all that is involved in this project! I knew that taking photos of over 300,000 headstones was going to be a daunting task in itself. The time involved in uploading and renaming those photos, and then adding them into a data base is unbelievable! I am also in the middle of trying to come up with the "perfect" mission statement for our organization's incorporation paperwork. We haven't even gone live with our website and we've already out grown our hosting package! Trust me...this endevor is not for the faint hearted! I love what we're doing, though, and I have no intention of giving up. I think that this is a great project. Thank you for your patience.

That being said, I now move on to Arlington National Cemetery in the news.


http://www.salon.com/news/arlington_national_cemetery_investigation/index.html

I would like to encourage all of you to go to the above link and read the articles about the atrocities that have occurred at Arlington National Cemetery! When I started thinking about this project I had no idea that these investigations were going on. I am shocked and disgusted! I treat my deceased pets with much more dignity and respect than these men have treated our fallen servicemen and women.

The more I read, the stonger my desire to complete this project grows.

So, would you like to know a little more about my idea?

I realize that my last blog left some question as to what my idea involves. Please allow me to try to more clearly put it into words for you the idea that has become The Arlington Photo Project. In January of 2010 I attended my father-in-law’s funeral in KY. It was then that I found out that his brother is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. No one in the family has seen his grave site. Living only 12 miles from ANC, I offered to go and take a picture for them. That is how this project was conceived.

I began to wonder how many other families out there had never seen the final resting place of their loved one here in Arlington National Cemetery. I am sure that there are many family members and friends who are unable to attend the actual service due to time constraints, travel or perhaps financial reasons. Even if the service is attended, the headstones are not placed until much later. I want to offer my time and service to these families.

The idea behind our website is relatively simple. I am making my way, one section at a time, thru ANC photographing every single headstone. These photos will then be uploaded to our website, allowing everyone to visit their loved one. This is Phase 1 of the project.

What do I ask in return for my services? We are currently working towards acquiring 501(C) nonprofit status. Once this is achieved, I will ask for tax deductible donations from all who believe that this is a worthy cause.