Fourteen heads of state also paid their respects at Arlington that year. And Sherlock, who has no staff, has been writing down what happens at the cemetery ever since. There have been a number of vivid moments that will always stand out for him, such as the burials of the seven astronauts of the space shuttle Challenger. When I'm gone 100 years from now, people will still be visiting Arlington cemetery and still be interested in its history, and they will know what happened that day. . . History isn't just old.
History is what's happening today.
About 4.5 million people visit the cemetery every year, many to see the Tomb of the Unknowns. About 5,000 funerals for veterans and family members take place annually, and 2,500 special events are held to honor individuals and groups. They include the annual memorial service for the Flying Tigers of World War II, a gathering of the Japanese American Citizens League to place flowers on graves and a remembrance for the sailors who died when the USS F4 Skate submarine sank off Honolulu in 1915. But Sherlock's favorite Memorial Day moment comes on the Friday morning before the big weekend. That's when the 3rd U.S. Infantry goes row by row to place an American flag at each of the cemetery's 268,000 gravestones.