I was in Austin, Texas last week for a convention. During breaks I ventured on foot with my GPS receiver and camera into various parts of town to track down geocaches. I eventually wandered into the Texas State Cemetery. I had never heard of it so I had to check it out.
I walked up on Tom Landry’s grave. Serendipity, I am big Dallas Cowboys fan. I started when he was the head coach.
He was a great coach. I know nothing about his personal life but to all accounts he was a very good guy.
I saw the grave of J. Frank Dobie. Boy, did I love his books as a kid. I love serendipity!!
and behind Mr. Dobie is Stephen F. Austin, great hero of the war of Texas Independence.
Barbara Jordan, the great Texas congresswoman, is buried there. I didn’t agree with her politics very often but I admired her passion nonetheless.
Many politicians are buried there and have listed all the various positions they held. I liked her list the best even though it was the shortest:
Texas Rangers are buried there
There is a memorial to those killed in the 9/11 attack.
Those are actual girders from the buildings that collapsed in New York City.
Veterans of the Battle of San Jacinto. “Remember the Alamo!”
Civil War Veterans of the Confederacy
They have a section reserved for Medal of Honor winners. This is just a few:
I randomly googled Mr. James Marion Logan to see what I could find out. He was born in Lulling, Texas and died in Longview, Texas. You can read his story here and here. If anybody deserved a Medal of Honor, he did.
The grave to the left is that of Robert Edward Galer. He was a Marine fighter pilot during the Battle of Guadacanal. You can read his story here.
To the right is buried Joseph Charles Rodriguez. He earned his Medal of Honor in Korea. Here is his story.
There was no better way to spend a couple hours than being among all these people.
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I’m so grateful you visited here and posted this. As a Texan, I’m embarrassed that I haven’t visited here, even when in austin for a few days a few years ago.
Thanks. Graveyards are special.
There is nothing better than a great cemetery! I love it. I remember doing a cemetery study with students, once. Lots to learn: sociology, data…good job!
What a beautiful place! I love walking through cemeteries. It always seems so peaceful.
What an interesting and historic cemetery. I enjoy meandering through cemeteries and reading old headstones.
Thanks for sharing.
Sunny 🙂
P.S. I like your new header, nice reflections.
Thanks for posting this. Very interesting!
There is a lot of history to be learned in that cemetery.
You found quite a lot of interesting history in that cemetery!
aloha,
thanks for sharing a little bit about your world today, thats a very beautiful scene of the grassy area with the headstones in perfect order and the monument to 9/11, amazing, theres so much history here!
It’s amazing to see all these people who fought for a better world. Or people who died so unfair like the victims of 9/11.
So much history there. Great photos Yogi, thanks for taking us along.
Fantastic post, Yogi! I love your photos! And, yes, so much history! Thanks for a great tour, this is exceptional! Hope you have a great week!
Sylvia
there are also plenty of memorials like that in my country because of the world war 2. great images 🙂
Interesting and thought provoking images.
Sydney – City and Suburbs
Touching and beautiful….
The medal of honor tribute would be a wonderful post for Memorial Day or the 4th of July. Great post. Thank you for sharing it.
What amazing – and yet slightly melancholy – photos.
What an amazing place to just walk into! You recognized so many names…how fascinating.
Cemeteries are really wonderful places. It’s interesting how basically unassuming all these graves are with the exception of Mr. Austin’s. A peaceful, history-packed place.