April 13, 2006

My People,        

  Greetings from Christiansburg, Virginia, where it's overcast and a slight chill. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday night here with my family, Nan and John Hairston, my uncle and the youngest brother of my grandmother, the late Myrtle Hairston.

 Two of my brothers, Gerald, Kevin, and I met in Washington, D.C. on Monday this week and after having dinner with cousins Kathryn Hairston and James McDaniel, we journeyed to Arlington National Cemetery for a 10 am ceremony to commit my grandfather, Robert Fulton Williams, to his final rest. He died August 25, 2005 at age ninety-two.

  On the early drive to Arlington from Potomac, Maryland, Kathryn, James and I encountered one of the morning rushes that snarled traffic for miles on the George Washington Parkway. We had given ourselves plenty of time and finally arrived at the cemetery forty-five minutes ahead of our 9:30 am. check-in. My brothers arrived soon by taxi from their hotel in Downtown Arlington, Virginia.

  It was a comfortable morning and the sun showed through cloudless skies. The landscaping was in a spectacular splendor of spring flowers just a week after the famed cherry blossoms had made their appearance. Everyone complimented God's greatness in presenting this beautiful morning for our loved one's commitment.

  The Columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery is a new structure built to house the cremains of eligible veterans and their spouses. Our contact person told us of future plans to build two additional Columbariums containing 5000 niches and well as 26,000 grave sites. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/index.htm

  There were eighteen U.S. Navy Honor Guard personnel awaiting us when we arrived under the canopy for the military service. The six guards handled the flag in a practiced style that I had never witnessed, with a crisp snap, gloved hands were drawn to the ears after the slow movements were finished.


  The gunners fired off the rounds of the twenty-one gun salute and, to my pleasure, an officer in dress uniform played taps on trumpet. I have attended military ceremonies where a person holds a brass instrument that contains a recording that simulates a person playing; I had my horn just in case. Two sailors acted in command and the senior one handed me the flag and gave the thanks from a grateful nation.

  After the honor guard marched off to an awaiting transport helicopter that returned them to the local Naval Station, our family was escorted to the niche where the urn would be placed. Gerald carried the urn, Kevin did the photography and I carried the flag. In addition to the cremains, I put in a photo of my grandad in his Navy uniform and a picture of the three of us brothers standing by his casket during the late August service in Cleveland where he lived for nearly forty years. Gerald lifted the urn into the niche and our service person explained the temporary niche marker that would soon be replaced by a permanent one.

  So, our long-time best friend and grandfather, Robert F. Williams, F1C U.S. Navy, now rests in Arlington National Cemetery, Columbarium Court Number Eight, Section I, Stack Fourteen, Niche Four. May he sleep forever in the love that he gave to those he encountered in his ninety-two plus years on Earth.