Everything is different this year, including Memorial Day.
Eager, though, to give people around the country some semblance of normalcy, was Emily Domenech, a conservative political adviser who visited the graveside of numerous fallen Americans at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday.
Due to coronavirus-induced restrictions, friends and loved ones were not permitted into the famous cemetery along the Potomac River unless they were directly related to a fallen soldier buried there. Knowing it’s a tradition for many, Domenech took to Twitter on Memorial Day, offering to visit gravesites on behalf of the friends who couldn’t be there in-person this year.
In a tweet that’s been “liked” more than 40,000 times and retweeted close to 10,000 times, Domenech wrote, “Does anyone have buddies buried in Arlington who they would like visited today? Since only family members are allowed in, I would be honored to pay respects on your behalf.”
As responses started pouring in, Domenech began tweeting back with photos of the tombstones of fallen soldiers.
Domenech, who started visiting others’ gravesides around 9:30 a.m., stayed at the cemetery until its closure at 5 p.m., except for a brief break around lunchtime, when she left to get more flowers to lay at tombstones.
Ultimately, she enlisted the help of her mom and dad, who came to Arlington National Cemetery to help take photos for the last hour.
See Domenech’s full Twitter thread here.
Memorial Day certainly looked different this week, but we are nonetheless eternally grateful for the sacrifices of the men and women in uniform who have secured our freedoms since our nation’s founding.