[Kemper]

I visited Arlington National Cemetery last week while in DC for a conference. My wife and I did what the other two million visitors a year do, breezed through the visitor’s center and headed up the hill to the Tomb of the Unknowns, stopping at the JFK grave site and Robert E Lee’s plantation house along the way. After watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns, we followed the provided map to the main memorials: Space Shuttles Challenger and Columbia, USS Maine, Audie Murphy, etc. Again, all on top of the hill and on the Ft Myer side of the cemetery. The latest headstones were marked World War II and a few Vietnam. I began to wonder where “our guys” were. After about four hours of walking, we went back to the visitor’s center to leave. I saw a kiosk by the information center where you could type in a name and find the grave location. Not even knowing if Tony was buried at Arlington, I typed in “Yost” and hit enter. His name came up and hit me like a ton of bricks.

It has been five years since I had seen Tony, the last time was a week before he was KIA in Mosul. About four years prior to his death, he was one of my 18B instructors when I was the 1SG of B-1/4th SWTG. B Co had Phase III, then the MOS producing phase, for the 18B, 18C and 18Es. Additionally, and in spite of being a monstrous Apache Indian, Tony Yost was an outstanding HALO jumpmaster and was sent to the Advanced Freefall course. When I left for the Sergeants Major Academy, Tony was promoted to Master Sergeant and given an ODA in 3rd Group. We linked up again in Mosul when his company was attached to 1/5th for the BATT mission. Tony would stop by the OPCEN to see me every few weeks when his Team came in for an S-4 run.

My wife, Kimberly, and I walked over to section 60 and began to look for row 82. Section 60 is to the south of the visitor’s center, at the bottom of the hill and is where all of “our guys” are being buried. The majority of the graves have Operation Iraqi Freedom or Afghanistan chiseled in them with a sprinkling of WWII, Korea and Vietnam vets. There had been visitors in the not so distant past, wilted and dead flowers, Christmas wreaths, and a 12 pack of beer on a young Marine’s grave. But mostly what Kim and I noticed was that, other than a funeral taking place a couple hundred meters away, there were no visitors. This was a stark contrast from the activity up on the hill. There is no reason to visit section 60. Only if you had a family member or a Brother in Arms beneath section 60 would there be an incentive to come to this part of Arlington. After we found Tony we spent a few minutes with him while I told Kim stories that she had heard before of 18B students, the 18B FTX and the time Tony and I went to the O2 chamber at Shaw AFB, we started back. I then noticed that Ayman Taha’s grave was a few over from Tony’s. I didn’t know Ayman, but I knew he was an 18C in 3/5th. He was KIA in 2005 carrying a 155mm round rigged as an IED out of a house full of women and kids…It detonated when he was putting it down. I then wondered how many other SF guys were in section 60. What about other ARSOF guys, how many Rangers and TF 160 guys were around me? What about SEALs, and Air Force TACPs? There is really no way to know without prior research for names and a call on the visitor’s center’s kiosk.

Later that night, after the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Wall and the Korea and WWII memorials I thought of desolate section 60 and “our guys”. I am considering approaching CSM Baer (USASOC) and CSM Vigil (USASFC) about the possibility of erecting a Special Forces Command Memorial in section 60 for our guys. But then I thought about a US Army Special Operations Command memorial in section 60 for the SF Guys, the Rangers and TF-160. I know there is already a memorial at Bragg at the USASOC HQ, but none at Arlington. Lastly, I thought about a USSOCOM memorial for all our SOF guys.

This whole post is leading to a poll. Before I do anything related to a SOF memorial in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, I would like thoughts from other Quite Professionals. Is it worth pursuing at all? If so, what level, USASFC/1st Special Forces Regiment or USASOC or the all SOF encompassing USSOCOM? Thank you in advance for your thoughts.


Respects,
MDK 18Z