Written By: Ben Cosgrove
Millions of words have been written about Arlington National Cemetery through the years, but none can ever do justice to the singular atmosphere of the place itself. From its founding in 1866, just a year after the cataclysmic Civil War ended, the 600 acres situated across the Potomac from the Lincoln Memorial have constituted sacred ground for generations of Americans.
Here, LIFE.com offers a series of photographs made at Arlington by George Silk. Never published in LIFE magazine, Silk’s pictures are appropriately quiet, reflective portraits of a small corner of the country that occupies a special, prominent place in the national consciousness.
A bugler played “Taps” at Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Horses pulled a caisson through Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Groundskeepers, Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Digging a grave, Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
The original, temporary John F. Kennedy “Eternal Flame,” 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Horses pulled a caisson through Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Funeral, Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Funeral, Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Tending a grave, Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
A man rested in the shade at Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
A resident squirrel perched on a headstone at Arlington National Cemetery, 1965.
George Silk/Life Pictures/Shutterstock
