Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Set 'em up

On Memorial Day, when I was walking through Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, I started paying attention to the non-floral items left at graves. And I came across these four headstones, all with additional flowers and bottles of Yuengling lager:





It turns out that these four Marines were part of a training exercise off Eglin Air Force Base in Florida on 10 March 2015. Their Black Hawk helicopter crashed in dense fog, killing all on board—seven Marines of the USMC Special Operations Command (MARSOC) and four Louisiana National Guardsmen.

Not a one of them old enough to run for President, but every one of them having already served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. (Saunders’ inscription doesn’t mention it, but you can look him up.)

I’d certainly like to know the story behind the Yuengling. And who left it. Because it felt a little like I'd walked into the local pub, where I could have bumped into these guys letting off steam.


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