A first impression visiting the Georgia National Cemetery, Canton, Georgia, on of June 12, 2006

CLOSE TO HOME

Another knoll in the promising hills of north Georgia,
or so we thought, cruising the smooth asphalt of a fine
new road a few miles off I-75, and 40 miles northwest
of Atlanta, in the middle of burgeoning progress and

prosperity. Beyond big new homes of the well-to-do,
we reach the end of the road, a new Veterans' cemetery
To the right are centuries old hardwoods, lush green
with summer's fullness of beauty and gentle welcome

to the final destination of veterans of our wars since
Pearl Harbor and four years following worldwide
casualties, and now the aged veterans, dying after 60
years from surviving. Entering the quiet dignified

reception building, we are greeted by compassionate
staff members dedicated to giving us a meaningful
satisfactory visiting experience. A look-see visit
becoming a guided tour of construction under way,

and stone markers of first veterans' burials there.
Since April, 2006 they come, along with wives, and
will keep coming for over fifty years to a final home
close by Veterans' families living within 75 miles.

©Copyright June 2006 by F. William Broome

Dahlonega, Georgia,
Army Air Forces, World War II