Arts and Culture Preview

This tour contains two types of stops: HONOR stops mark the gravesites of specific individuals. EXPLORE stops invite you to discover what this history means to you.

Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) is the final resting place for approximately 400,000 service members and their families.

When many think of ANC, they think of stories of wartime bravery and the people buried here who performed those acts of bravery. They may not immediately think about art and the artists buried here who used their talents to create. But, in fact, just as the United States is diverse, so too is the military and military family members, and many artists — some who served in the miliary and some who did not — are buried here.

• Iconic actress of the Golden Age of Hollywood who starred in more than 50 films
• After her husband’s death, became president of Antilles Air Boats—the first female president of a U.S. airline

• Advocate for American Indian civil rights, women’s rights, and cultural sovereignty

• Published influential stories and essays exposing injustices in Indian boarding schools

• Founded the Clef Club, an all-Black orchestra and musicians’ organization that performed at Carnegie Hall in 1912
• Led the Harlem Hellfighters Band during World War I, performing throughout Europe to great acclaim

• Landscape and travel photographer who documented the American West
• His photography contributed to the establishment of Yellowstone National Park

William Henry Jackson’s photographs captured the attention of a nation. At the time, most people living in the United States had never seen or traveled to the American West. Jackson was a pioneer of the West, acting almost as the ultimate 19th-Century travel “influencer.”

Jackson’s images of the landscape and people:

• Represent the wonders of exploration and discovery, exhibiting the natural beauty of the world and the cultures of unknown people.
• Inspired American settlers to visit and call the West their new home, which, in part, led to the United States’ forced and violent expulsion of Native American tribes from their land, the loss of native wildlife, especially bison, and the development of this previously undeveloped land.

His images also:

• Preserve a turning point in American history — westward expansion not only geographically expanded the United States, but also, with the growth, expanded the nation’s access to natural resources and the nation’s cultural and military exchanges with American Indian tribes.
• Preserve the natural beauty of North America, as it was in the late 19th century.

• Famous bandleader of the big band era
• Modernized military music during his time in the U.S. Army Air Corps

The American military has a long history of using music and musicians. In the colonial era, the Army used drums and fifes (a small, high-pitched flute) to coordinate military actions. During the War of 1812, the Army began using bugles to signal troops. In addition to this “field music” — music for the battlefield — some regiments also employed bands of brass and woodwind instruments to play for ceremonies and special occasions.

Today, each branch of the military has its own band that performs for ceremonies, entertainment, and outreach events:

• U.S. Marine Corps Band, “The President’s Own,” established by Congress in 1798
• The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” established by General John J. Pershing (Section 35, Grave S-19-LH) in 1922
• The U.S. Navy Band, established by Congress in 1925. Informal bands had existed since the early 19th Century
• The U.S. Coast Guard Band, organized in 1925, officially established by Congress in 1965
• The U.S. Air Force Band, established in 1941

• Highly decorated for his service in World War II, earning 28 medals, including the Medal of Honor
• Acted in more than 40 films

• Academy Award winning actor known for playing villains and anti-heroes

During World War II, Japan targeted the Midway Islands in the Pacific Ocean to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet and gain a foothold for future military operations. Located 1,300 miles northwest of Honolulu, the Midway Islands would allow Japan a refueling station for its aircraft. Fought almost entirely by carrier-based airplanes off the northeast islands, the Battle of Midway took place from June 3 to June 6, 1942. The U.S. victory at Midway was a turning point in the Pacific theater of World War II. The battle cost Japan four aircraft carriers, many of its finest pilots, and resulted in about three thousand Japanese deaths.

Acclaimed Hollywood filmmaker John Ford, who was serving as chief of the field photographic branch of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), was at the battle. He turned footage he shot at Midway into an Academy Award-winning documentary. Ford’s 18-minute film, “The Battle of Midway” (1942), is a mix of pro-American propaganda and the real horrors of war. It combines footage of bombed-out American facilities and the burial of the dead with patriotic music and voiceovers. After watching it, President Franklin D. Roosevelt reportedly said,

“I want every mother in America to see this film.”

• Popular writer of mystery novels, plays, short stories, and political articles

• Sculptor of multiple statues found around Washington, D.C.
• Youngest artist, and first woman artist, to receive a commission from the U.S. government.

• Famous writer of detective fiction
• His writing helped establish the film noir genre

Section 43, Grave 511

Sergeant Louia Vaughn Jones was an internationally renowned violinist and professor of music at Howard University. A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, he served in France during World War I as the assistant bandleader of the U.S. Army’s African American 807th Pioneer Infantry band. Jones returned to France after the war and performed throughout Europe during the 1920s, including a performance for the king and queen of Spain. In 1930, he accepted a position as head of the violin department at Howard University, where he taught for the next 30 years. In 1935, Jones became the first African American to perform with the National Symphony Orchestra, although the concert took place at Howard University due to the discriminatory booking policies of the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Constitution Hall venue.

You've reached the end of the Arts & Culture Walking Tour. We hope you enjoyed your time exploring the cemetery and learning about these artists, writers, and performers.You can explore additional content and resources on the Arlington National Cemetery Education Program website, or find more tours through Arlington National Cemetery's STQRY.