'Section 60': Where war comes home
In Arlington National Cemetery, the remains of over 400,000 men and women have been laid to rest across 624 acres. Every year, more than 4 million people visit the cemetery to pay their respects.
To tell the story of the entire cemetery is a monumental task, one that Robert M. Poole took up in his book "On Hallowed Ground."
For his newest book, "Section 60," he narrows his focus to just five acres of Arlington. Section 60 holds the casualties of America's latest wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In the book, Poole explores the lives and deaths those who rest in Section 60, and how Arlington honors their sacrifice.
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From The Washington Post:
The fallen in Section 60 include not just Army Capt. Russell Brian Rippetoe, killed by a suicide bomber near Haditha, Iraq, on April 3, 2003, but also Army Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis, who smothered a grenade with his body to save his comrades on Dec. 4, 2006, earning the nation's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor. Section 60 holds the remains of Army Pfc. David H. Sharrett II, killed by friendly fire in a battle north of Baghdad in January 2008, and those of Marine Staff Sgt. Jimmy Malachowski, cut in half by an improvised explosive device in a mud hut in Marjah, Afghanistan, on March 20, 2011. And here rests Army Master Sgt. Sean M. Mocabee, felled by his own hand after falling prey to post-traumatic stress disorder upon his return from one combat tour too many in Afghanistan.
Poole joins The Daily Circuit to discuss "Section 60."