A Grave Concern: Women’s War Memorial

This is the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. The memorial and the exhibits and archives associated with it are dedicated to honoring all women who have served with or in support of the United States armed forces.

This is a photo I took from the back of the memorial, looking out at a section of the cemetery.

It’s hard to see because this photo was taken on a cheap film camera and then scanned to digital, but the very closest tombstone is that of a woman who served in World War II.

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A Grave Concern: The rosary

I haven’t seen the rosary on any grave markers created before the 20th century, and most of those I’ve seen have been from the past 50 years or less. The rosary is, very basically, a set of beads on which Roman Catholics are expected to say a particular, repetitive set of prayers while meditating upon a series of events in the life of Mary, the mother of Christ. There’s a whole lot more packed into that, and I study the history as a historical reenactor, but that’s good enough for a short explanation. Although Catholics are not the only religious group to have prayer beads and the rosary is not the only set of prayer beads they have, the rosary is an important, well-known symbol of the Catholic faith.

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