Daily Herald opinion: Last week’s disturbance at Arlington Cemetery matters. Here’s why

Even if you’ve never visited Arlington National Cemetery, the vista it presents is still familiar to most Americans — 624 acres atop a bluff overlooking Washington, D.C., and the Potomac River. The 400,000-plus veterans and their families at rest here, marked by seemingly endless rows of simple white tombstones, make it a uniquely American scene.

Everyone who visits has his or her own reaction, but walking among the stones, it’s hard not to feel you are in a sacred place.

By now, you’ve heard the story of former President Donald Trump’s visit there on Aug. 26, invited by Gold Star families, families who have lost someone in military service. They watched as he placed three wreaths, honoring 13 American soldiers killed on Aug. 21, 2021 in Kabul, during the debacle that was the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan. So far, so good — as a former president Trump has every right to stand there, hand over his heart, to honor the nation’s war dead.

Things went south, however, when the former president walked over to Section 60 to pose with the family of a fallen soldier. There he smiled and offered a thumbs-up as a campaign photographer and videographer recorded the moment. In a flash, a solemn moment of remembrance with grieving families turned into a campaign photo op — and a lingering controversy.

Section 60 is a particularly emotional place, because the soldiers buried here are among the more recently deceased. They died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it’s not unusual to find families spending an afternoon there, tending graves and chatting with each other as children play among the stones. No presidents are buried there. Nor are generals and admirals. Instead, the rows of sparkling white tombstones mark the resting places of patriots whose names are unknown to most of us, who gave the ultimate sacrifice halfway around the world.

Only Arlington staff members are allowed to take photos or make video in this area. And partisan activities are prohibited entirely, “due to (the cemetery’s) role as a shrine to all the honored dead of the Armed Forces of the United States and out of respect for the men and women buried there and for their families,” according to Defense Department regulations.

There’s no doubt the Trump campaign understood that partisan actions are not allowed at Arlington. This is on them, not the Gold Star families who support Trump and wanted him there.

After all, the campaign could have made a disingenuous claim of ignorance, buried the photos and video they took, and everyone would have moved on.

Instead, Chris LaCivita, a top Trump adviser, and campaign spokesman Steven Cheung, must have fallen and hit their heads against the tombstones. Cheung told reporters that a cemetery employee who came out to stop the political event (and was literally pushed aside) was “clearly suffering a mental health episode,” and LaCivita doubled down by calling her a “despicable individual” who should be fired.

They didn’t stop there. The next day, LaCivita posted a photo on X (formerly Twitter) that showed Trump at Arlington and wrote, “The Photo that shook the world and reminded America who the real Commander in Chief is …” A few days later, he posted another photo of the former president at Arlington, and wrote, “Reposting this hoping to trigger the hacks at @SecArmy.”

People doing their job to protect the sanctity of a national shrine to America’s war dead are “hacks?” Would that the former president at least have responded to that unnecessary insult by his staff. Clearly, these two individuals are the ones who deserve to be fired.

The U.S. Army, meanwhile, issued a statement saying their employee had acted with professionalism and criticizing the Trump campaign. But because the employee in question declined to follow up with charges, the Army considers the matter closed.

We can’t help but worry about the unnamed employee, who said she was not pressing charges at least partly to try to avoid the madness of MAGA haters making her life a misery. We hope she can remain anonymous, but fear for her. And, we’re grateful for her determination to uphold Section 60’s special role.

This is by no means the only time politicians have tried using Arlington Cemetery for their own ends, but in this case, two overbearing campaign activists pushed crass political gain too far.

Arlington is American hallowed ground. It is bigger than any single attempt to defile it. Keeping it that way is why it’s so important to defend the cemetery’s unique status.

Its history and its place in all our hearts deserve the respect that keeps it sacred.