Remembering...

I have been to Arlington National Cemetery a handful of times.  It is always a moving experience to see the rows and rows of headstones marking military service men/women, many of whom lost their lives during a war.

I'd have to say that up until this visit, the picture above is a good representation on how I'd walk away from my prior visits.  Seeing numerous headstones without really noticing anything about the specifics of them.

Having just been in Vietnam in an area where US soldiers had lost their lives my perspective has shifted a bit.  I wanted to find a headstone of a soldier that died while fighting in Vietnam.  It may sound odd or silly to you but in a way it is how I can close the loop on the piece of history I've been able to learn about recently.

This is the headstone that marks the grave for Bromley H German from Connecticut:

I'm not sure if he walked on the same paths that I did in Vietnam but he was there and he made the ultimate sacrifice. 

As we were walking out of the cemetery I noticed (partly because I've been guilty of this myself) that most people were just walking through to get to the Tomb of the Unknowns or to see President Kennedy's grave site.  Both are very interesting to see but there are hundreds of thousands of other headstones and graves to see and honor as well.  Promise me that the next time you or somebody you know pays a visit to Arlington National Cemetery that you/they will take the time to read a few of the other headstones.  In a few minutes time you can remember those that have lost their lives or served our country in the military.  A simple but important thing.

I had also wanted to get a nice picture of the Vietnam Memorial.  Again, having just been in Vietnam I thought it'd been nice to blog about it a little.  We had been over the weekend but I didn't get any pictures that I really liked so we walked back to visit it again.

It was a little less crowded yesterday and Alan asked if I wanted to make a rubbing of one of the names.  At about the same time we both realized that I could get a rubbing of the name of the soldier that we just saw in Arlington.  I looked up German, Bromley H in the index and found that his name is on section 33E, line 57 of the wall. 

I don't know Bromley German, I don't know how he died, all I know is that he died at 24 in Vietnam, he was a Lieutenant, and was originally from Connecticut.  I do know that I appreciate his service to the US military and that 24 is too young to die...no matter what the reason.

When we got back home last night I spent a bit of time trying to find out more about Bromley German.  It took me a little while but I did eventually find some info.

I learned the following:
The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Bromley H German, First Lieutenant (Artillery), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Battery A, 3d Battalion, 82d Artillery, 196th Infantry Brigade (Light) (Separate), Americal Division. First Lieutenant German distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 5 and 6 January 1968 as artillery forward observer with an infantry company on combat operations in Quang Tin Province.

If you want to learn more about him you can check it out here: Bromley H German.

Oh, and his middle name was Howard...that is what the H stands for in Bromley H German.