A Level of Silence and Respect.

[mapalfa]

I'm not ex-US military, I'm not even American, but I am ex-forces and this sort of thing never ceases to disgust me.

How they manage to keep their cool under these circumstances is beyond me, I'd want to bayonet them!

We've had a few incidents here where tourists have gone too far with the Guardsmen on duty at various palaces. There's always some idiot trying to wind them up, forgetting that most are combat veterans these days. To do the same at a war memorial, any war memorial, shows such utter contempt for the sacrifices made that it makes me sick.

I've not been to Arlington but would like to - I think? I've visited the Normandy cemeteries a number of times, but I always have some feeling that I'm treating them like a tourist attraction when they should be for those with a more direct connection. I guess if I was near I'd visit one of the concentration camp sites, but again as much as I'd want to go to pay my respects, I know I'd probably feel like a voyeur when I was there. I've had the same feeling when diving on wrecks where there's been loss of life, as much as you feel the respect, by being there you can't help but disturb the place.

At the same time I do wonder if the war graves should be more of a picnic site type attraction. Would those who made the ultimate sacrifice want to be remembered in silent contemplation, or would they want people to enjoy the freedom and peace that they paid for with their lives.

I guess lots of that's down to your view of death. My wife comes from a traditional Portuguese family and the British habit of walking our dogs through cemeteries has taken years for her to become comfortable with. All her relatives are in huge stone memorials, but I want to be buried in a cardboard coffin with a fruit tree over me so people can benefit from me when I've gone.

When I joined the forces (post-Falklands, pre Gulf I) I told my parents that I would hate it if they made a fuss if I got killed on duty. As it turned out I had a very short enlistment due to a training injury, but had I been deployed I'd want to know that my place of rest was somewhere people could enjoy rather than feel silenced by.

That doesn't mean that I think there should be disrespect shown at The Tomb, that's not how it's been treated traditionally and that tradition should be respected, it's just how I'd feel about myself.