Remembering A Family Of Service And Sacrifice In Panorama

Sometimes we don’t really understand what we are seeing. I certainly did not when I made this photograph looking through the fence on the east... more

by Douglas Taylor

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Price

$395

Dimensions

90.000 x 30.000 inches

Title

Remembering A Family Of Service And Sacrifice In Panorama

Artist

Douglas Taylor

Medium

Photograph - Fine Art Digital Photography

Description

Sometimes we don’t really understand what we are seeing. I certainly did not when I made this photograph looking through the fence on the east side of Arlington National Cemetery. Only when I examined the image while editing did I realize the gravity of the photograph. This is the memorial to a family of service, and a family that made the ultimate sacrifice.

To the right is the headstone for Colonel Dudley Warren Watkins and his wife Ruth Woodruff Watkins. He was born in Montana in 1893, graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1915 and joined the Army in 1917 to serve in World War 1. He was one of the pioneers of Army aviation, earned his Command Pilot rating in 1918 and became an instructor at Brooks Filed in Texas where one of his students was Charles Lindbergh. He served all the way through to the end of World War 2, even after being badly injured in a plane crash. Ruth Watkins was widowed after bearing four sons. She then married Watkins, who adopted the four boys as his own. They also had a son together.

The headstone in the center is for Brigadier General Tarleton Harvin Watkins who followed in his step-father’s slipstream and joined the Army Air Corps in 1938 at Kelly Field in Texas. He was soon a fighter pilot, and was one of the very few to get airborne in a P-40 and counterattack the Japanese attack of Hickham Field at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. He then served with the British in North Africa where he was credited with three air combat kills and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross among other prestigious awards. He remained in the Air Corps as it transitioned to become the U. S. Air Force and rose to the rank of Brigadier General in 1961, retiring in 1967. He died in 2009.

His brothers are memorialized by the headstone on the left. Robert Watkins was a Sergeant in the 5th Engineers when he was lost at sea in June, 1942. William Watkins was a flight officer in the Air Corps when he was killed on Christmas Day, 1943 at Foggia, Italy. Woodruff Watkins was a 2nd Lieutenant and instructor for the Army Air Corps like his father, but he was killed in an air accident at Eagle Pass, Texas in May of 1944. A fourth brother also served, and survived the Second World War. He is buried nearby.

This family epitomizes the depth of service, and the sacrifices that the men and women of the armed forces have made for our country throughout our history. In particular, we should remember the sacrifice made by the mothers whose children died or where permanently scared and disabled in service to their country. These are the people we must remember on our Memorial Day in May, and on Veteran’s Day, November 11th.

Uploaded

November 10th, 2021