National Cemetery

Where:: Arlington National Cemetery, located across the Potomac River from Washington at the west end of Arlington Memorial Bridge. When:: 11 a.m. Tuesday. The cemetery gates will open to the public at 8 a.m., and a free shuttle service will run from the Visitors Center to the Memorial Amphitheater. Shuttles will run from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. Seating in the amphitheater is on a first-come, first-serve basis. What:: Veterans Day ceremonies, which begin with a wreath being placed at the Tomb of the Unknowns, are held annually.

For Theresa Mills, the "most emotional day" came last June when the Marine Corps notification team visited her Laurel home to tell her that her older son had been killed in Afghanistan. The second most emotional day, she said, came Monday. In the morning, Mills traveled to Timonium, where Lance Cpl. Eugene C. Mills III was one of seven Marylanders honored at the annual Memorial Day observance at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens. In the afternoon, she planned to see off her younger son, Jake, who was scheduled to leave Monday evening for Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, S.C. In between, she said she was "emotional, very emotional.

Tuesday is the 139th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's famous speech at the dedication of the national cemetery in Gettysburg, Pa., for the Union dead from the costly Civil War battle there in July 1863. The anniversary will be marked a living-history presentation and memorial services starting at 10 a.m. at the national cemetery. Lynne Cheney, wife of the vice president, will be the featured speaker. Tuesday's ceremonies will complete this weekend's activities in Gettysburg, where a Remembrance Day parade and other events have been traditional, almost since that first sad remembrance day on Nov. 19, 1863.

Several weeks ago, a friend of mine told me about the old Laurel Cemetery in the city's Belair-Edison neighborhood that had once been the premier resting place for Baltimore's African-American community until disappearing when the site was redeveloped as a shopping center in the late 1950s. It was traditional during the early years of the 19th century that African-Americans were buried in "colored burial grounds" owned by black churches. In 1851, Thomas Burgan Jr., a prominent businessman, sold a parcel of land on Belle Air Avenue to several businessmen who developed the land into a cemetery for the interment of the "colored people of the city and county of Baltimore.

If ever there were a year that needed a Memorial Day, this is the year. If ever there were a place to symbolize best our national need to remember and to honor, this is the place: the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. A lone sentry marches on the long black mat in front of a monument made of 50 tons of white Colorado marble. The route is always the same, every day of the year, in every kind of weather: 21 deliberate paces, stop, turn 90 degrees and face the tomb for 21 seconds, turn another 90 degrees and pause again, retrace the route to the other end of the mat. The sentry wears a wool uniform, what-ever the temperature.

A cold wind whipped through Section 60. It stripped cherry blossoms from their branches, sending old buds and new to the muddy ground like spent confetti. It brought limp flags to life, masking the not-quite-silent background hum of funerals -- stifled sobs, cleared throats and hushed voices -- with the crisp and gently reassuring sound of fabric slapping itself. And it made Joe Rippetoe's pesky right shoulder so stiff that, when it was time to salute -- to face the general, accept the flag and hear the words, "On behalf of a grateful country ..."

ARLINGTON, Va. -- For the second time this year, Martina C. Burger sat beside a casket at Arlington National Cemetery as a Marine placed in her lap a neatly folded American flag. Having buried her husband in May, Burger said goodbye yesterday to her only son, Marine Cpl. Dale A. Burger Jr. The 21-year-old Bel Air native, who was killed Nov. 14 during fighting in Iraq, was saluted by 21 rounds fired by seven Marine riflemen and the mournful strains of taps. Before about 100 mourners, Burger was laid to rest next to his father, Dale A. Burger Sr., a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War who died in May of complications from a heart attack.

Edgar Franklin Kessler, III, Buried at Houston's V.A. National Cemetery. www.jeterfuneralhome.com.

Nov. 19 1863 President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address as he dedicated a national cemetery at the site of the Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania.

On April 16, 2003, JOYCE K. CONVERSO, beloved wife of the late Pompeo Converso. Survived by three daughters, two sons, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was interred with her late husband at National Cemetery on Frederick Road.

A Navy SEAL from Edgewater is to be laid to rest this week at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Patrick D. Feeks of Edgewater was among seven Americans and four Afghans killed when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan, during a firefight with insurgents last month. The Aug.16 incident was one of the deadliest air disasters in the nearly 11-year-old war. The Taliban claimed responsibility for shooting down the helicopter.

Maj. Robert J. Marchanti II, 48, was buried Tuesday at Arlington National Cemetery. Marchanti, a 25-year member of the Maryland National Guard, was one of two officers killed last month in Afghanistan. Violence erupted in Kabul, where Marchanti was stationed, when it was revealed that copies of the Quran had been burned at a NATO base in Bagram. The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the deaths were punishment for burning the Muslim holy book. Gov. Martin O'Malley ordered U.S. and Maryland flags flown at half-staff Tuesday in Marchanti's memory.

Mourners of Airman 1st Class Matthew Ryan Seidler said the Westminster man had followed his dream of serving his country, found a band of brothers in the Air Force and died protecting his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan. "When we talked to him New Year's Day, it was the happiest that he had ever been in his life," his father, Marc Seidler, told the more than 500 mourners who filled the Sol Levinson & Bros. funeral home Tuesday in Pikesville. "He loved the Air Force. " Matthew Seidler, an explosive ordnance disposal apprentice, was killed Jan. 5 by a bomb in Helmand province.

On July 18, 2009. Theresa V. Fenwick On Friday friends may call at the VAUGHN C. GREENE FUNERAL SERVICES, 5151 Baltimore National Pike from 4:00 to 8:00PM. On Saturday, Mrs. Fenwick will lie instate at St. Peter Claver, 1546 N. Fremont Avenue, where the family will receive friends from 10:00 to 10:30AM with services to follow. Interment at Baltimore National Cemetery on Monday, July 27 at 1 PM. Inquiries to (410) 233-2400.

Edgar Franklin Kessler, III, Buried at Houston's V.A. National Cemetery. www.jeterfuneralhome.com.

Memorial Day Parade at Gettysburg Where: : The parade will begin at Lefever Street and head northeast to Middle Street, turn west on East Middle Street and south on Baltimore Street to the Soldiers' National Cemetery. When: : 2 p.m. Monday. A service at Gettysburg National Cemetery will follow. What: : The 142nd annual Memorial Day Parade, the nation's oldest. Soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan will be among the guests. How much: : Free. What's nearby: : The David Wills House, 8 Lincoln Square, is a new museum in downtown Gettysburg and where Abraham Lincoln worked out the finishing touches on his Gettysburg Address.

Memorial Day Parade at Gettysburg Where: : The parade will begin at Lefever Street and head northeast to Middle Street, turn west on East Middle Street and south on Baltimore Street to the Soldiers' National Cemetery. When: : 2 p.m. Monday. A service at Gettysburg National Cemetery will follow. What: : The 142nd annual Memorial Day Parade, the nation's oldest. Soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan will be among the guests. How much: : Free. What's nearby: : The David Wills House, 8 Lincoln Square, is a new museum in downtown Gettysburg and where Abraham Lincoln worked out the finishing touches on his Gettysburg Address.

Where:: Arlington National Cemetery, located across the Potomac River from Washington at the west end of Arlington Memorial Bridge. When:: 11 a.m. Tuesday. The cemetery gates will open to the public at 8 a.m., and a free shuttle service will run from the Visitors Center to the Memorial Amphitheater. Shuttles will run from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. Seating in the amphitheater is on a first-come, first-serve basis. What:: Veterans Day ceremonies, which begin with a wreath being placed at the Tomb of the Unknowns, are held annually.

On January 12, 2008, ROBERT HENRY, husband of Mary (nee Goedeke) Machovec; beloved father of Robert Machovec, Cindy McDonald, Edward and Vincent Peranio; dear grandfather of Alena, Lindsey, Joey, Stacy, Tara and Robert; great-grandfather of Ava and Ryan. Graveside services will be held in Baltimore National Cemetery (5501 Frederick Road) on Thursday at 11 A.M. Arrangements by Lilly & Zeiler Funeral Home.