Today is Memorial Day, a day were flags will be put on grave stones across the country.

Not all military graveyards can be easily visited .... many are underwater. Fortunately Robert Ballard likes to seek out and explore these watery sites and they may be read about in Graveyards of the Pacific: From Pearl Harbor to Bikini Atoll, by Robert D. Ballard with Michael Hamilton Morgan. I liked the descriptions of the battles that took place along with pictures (both archival and recent), and the respect and reverence that Ballard always shows with his discoveries.

It was once a working Virginia plantation owned by Robert E. Lee. During the Civil War it would serve as Union headquarters, and, for a time, house freed blacks, and, in one corner, soldiers were buried. On Hallowed Ground: the Story of Arlington National Cemetery, by Robert M. Poole is a beautifully researched, well written history of how it became the memorial to the fallen it is today. Included are wonderful, little known details. (The eternal flame at Kennedy's tomb was put together in about 24 hours when Jackie Kennedy said she'd like one after seeing on in Paris). Moving, inspiring, will bring tears to your eyes.

Reading Hermit With Dog