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Monument And Memorials

Chaplains Hill and Three Monuments

Chaplains from four wars rest on Chaplains Hill in Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery. Those buried here include: the Army's first Chief of Chaplains, Colonel John T. Axton of World War I; World War II's Chief of Chaplains William A. Arnold, who was the first Chaplain to make General; and Major Charles Joseph Watters who served in Vietnam and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on November 19, 1967. Unarmed, Watters was rendering aid to fallen comrades, disregarding his own safety when he was killed by a bomb explosion.

The Three Monuments on Chaplain's Hill

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On May 5, 1926, Chaplains who served in World War I dedicated the Chaplains Monument to twenty-three Chaplains who died in that war. Two quotations are inscribed on the cenotaph: "Greater Love Hath No Man Than This, That A Man Lay Down His Life For His Friends," and "To You From Falling Hands We Throw The Torch - Be Yours To Hold It High."

A memorial to 134 Protestant Chaplains who died in World Wars I and II was dedicated on October 26, 1981 "To The Glory of God And The Memory Of The Chaplains Who Died In Services Of Their Country."

A monument to 83 Catholic Chaplains who died in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam was dedicated on May 21, 1989 in the Memorial Amphitheater. Father William Barragy, the first Chaplain to die in Vietnam is among the names lied on the monument. He was killed on May 4, 1966 in a helicopter crash with twenty men on a mission for the 101st Airborne Division. Father Barragy was posthumously honored with the legion of merit. The monument's inscription: "May God Grant Peace To Them And To The Nation They Served So Well."

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