Arlington Natl Cemetery (theater, fence, military)

[cheeser]

Does anyone know if the Arlington National Cemetery is accessible through Ft. Myer? I'm active duty military so I do have access to Ft Myer. I've been told that there is a small fence but I'm curious if I could walk through without any MP hassles. Thanks for any responses.

[caution]

Walk through, yes. A kid that worked for me would sometimes walk from the barracks to the Metro at the other end of ANC to catch the train (that was post 9-11 but a while back).

Driving through is (or was) another story. You need a special pass for that, of course.

And you can't "run" in there (except the once per year run done by FMMC) since there's no excercise type activity allowed.

Just talk to the guards, and they should let you go through if the gate is otherwise open. It seems closed more often than open these days. Also, if you are in there visiting and they close the gate, you've got a long way round.

(My experience is based on the time frame of 2003-2006, so best thing is check with a guard.)

If we get a good snow later this year, take a walk through even if you have to trek around to the main gate. The place is really stunning all year, but the snow takes it to another emotional level.

[cheeser]

Thanks for the info. I would only go to walk through and do the "tourist" thing and entering through the base would seem to be the easier thing to do. I will check with the guards before I venture in.

I've only been in the area for 2 months and I have yet to go to ANC. I might go tomorrow (Veteran's Day) but I suspect the tourist traffic will be too much to bear, even coming from the base side. I will certainly take your advice and visit after some snow hits.

[caution]

You can go tomorrow for the president's speech (sometimes he delegates it to the VP or SecDef) but you'd want to be there at the main entrance as early as allowed. You'll walk up to the ampitheater and go through security in order to attend. I'm sure there's details on the web. I've been to that event several times and there's always throngs of people listening on loudspeakers outside the actual ceremony, all the way up to the mast of the Maine (I think that's the ship that provided the mast on the hill)

It's great to hear the speeches and see the crowds on Veterans Day and Memorial Day, but there's something about being in there when no one is around, in the older sections, just to reflect on the magnitude of war.

Section 60 where the OIF/OEF graves are is rather stark. Unlike the older sections, there aren't many trees and the ground is flat. You can walk the rows and read the recent dates. It's a sobering activity. Unfortunately, I attended too many funerals in section 60. It's hard for me to go there now.

Another idea is to go up to the tomb of the unknowns during the "holdiays". Chances are if you go as early as possible it'll just be you and the guards (maybe a few others) until the tourist busses start arriving.