AUTHORS

Cosmic Roots: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery’s Moon Tree

By Kevin M. Hymel on 4/23/2026

Arlington National Cemetery is home to many unique trees to explore on Arbor Day (April 24), but only one has roots in outer space. The “Moon Tree,” an American Sycamore, is a second-generation tree descendant of seeds that orbited the moon. 

Kevin M. Hymel

Children of Military Families Visit ANC and Reflect on Meanings of Service

When the Senate Youth Program visited Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) on March 13, the experience held special meanings for two students, both children of military service members. Their visit to ANC preceded the Month of the Military Child, observed every April. This observance recognizes that while service members wear the uniform, their children share the unique challenges and sacrifices that come with military service.  

“Operation Mincemeat,” the Musical, Visits Arlington National Cemetery

The bright lights and bustling theaters of Broadway might seem unrelated to the mission of Arlington National Cemetery (ANC). But a recent engagement revealed a surprising connection. On March 9, 2026, five actors from the Broadway musical “Operation Mincemeat” visited ANC to honor the real American airman portrayed in one of the show’s songs.  

A Love Forged in War

By Kevin M. Hymel on 4/14/2026

They met on a train during World War II. Navy Lt. Griffith “Griff” Way and Lt. junior grade Patricia “Pat” O’Sullivan were both heading from Seattle, Washington, to a Japanese language school in Boulder, Colorado. His mother had given him a newspaper clipping about Pat, with a picture, and told him to look for her since they both hailed from Seattle. Their meeting on that train led them to fall in love and eventually spend the rest of their lives together. On March 31, 2026, the couple was laid to rest in a dual funeral service at Arlington National Cemetery

Kevin M. Hymel

Navy Nurse Saved Lives at Sea During the Vietnam War

By Kevin M. Hymel on 4/6/2026

Navy Lt. Anne Jay saved countless lives during the deadliest years of the Vietnam War. As an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse from 1968 to 1969, she served on the USS Repose, a hospital ship that cruised along the South Vietnamese coast, receiving helicopters filled with soldiers, Marines and civilians wounded by war.  

Kevin M. Hymel

Last Surviving World War II Triple Ace Laid to Rest

On March 30, 2026, more than 100 people gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to honor and remember aviation legend Col. (Ret.) Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson, the last surviving World War II triple ace and one of the most distinguished fighter pilots in American history. (Shooting down five enemy aircraft qualifies a pilot as an ace.) Anderson, who passed away at age 102, was laid to rest in Section 38, joining his beloved wife of nearly 70 years, Eleanor “Ellie” Cosby, who was buried in 2015.  

“A Place of Honor to Rededicate Ourselves”: Medal of Honor Day at Arlington National Cemetery

Twenty Medal of Honor recipients visited Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) on March 25, 2026, for the annual Medal of Honor Day ceremony, each with the blue-ribboned Medal of Honor draped around his neck. The Medal of Honor is the United States’ highest military award for valor for an individual serving in the armed services in action against an enemy.

Missing for 82 Years, American POW Who Defended the Philippines in World War II Laid to Rest

By Kevin M. Hymel on 3/24/2026

U.S. Army Pvt. Leonard “Buddy” Jackson, from Great Falls, Montana, survived fighting in the Philippines during the first year of American involvement in World War II, but died in a POW camp on Oct. 31, 1942, just one day shy of his 20th birthday. His fate would remain a mystery for more than 80 years until he was identified and later laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on March 9, 2026. 

Kevin M. Hymel

U.S. Army Soldier Fought to Liberate Rome During World War II

By Kevin M. Hymel on 3/17/2026

On a cold night in Anzio, Italy, in 1944, U.S. Army Cpl. Thaddeus Pecorak was too tired to dig a foxhole, so he crawled under an American tank and fell asleep. When he woke up the next morning, the tank’s belly was touching his nose. The tank had sunk in the mud overnight, forcing Pecorak to wiggle himself out from underneath. “If it was real super-wet ground I wouldn’t be sitting here today,” he recalled in a 2017 Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) interview about his experiences in World War II. “I doubt anybody would have heard me under that tank.”  

Kevin M. Hymel

Son Honors Air Force Father Who Was MIA in Vietnam for 52 Years

By Kevin M. Hymel on 3/10/2026

Richard A. Kibbey Jr. was only 12 years old when an Air Force chaplain, a lieutenant colonel and an enlisted airman knocked on his family’s front door. “I knew immediately it was not good news,” he remembered. His father and namesake, Col. Richard Kibbey, had been serving in Vietnam as an HH-3E “Jolly Green Giant” helicopter pilot, rescuing downed flight crews.

Kevin M. Hymel