- Fort Myer
Infobox_nrhp | name =Fort Myer Historic District
nrhp_type = nhld
caption = Orville Wright flying at Fort Myer, September 9, 1908
location=Arlington, Virginia
locmapin = Virginia
area =
built =1887
architect= US Army
architecture= Late Victorian
designated=November 28 ,1972 cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1285&ResourceType=District
title=Fort Myer Historic District |accessdate=2008-06-26|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added =November 28 ,1972
governing_body = United States Army
refnum=72001380cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]Fort Myer is a
U.S. Army post adjacent toArlington National Cemetery inArlington County, Virginia , across thePotomac River fromWashington, DC . It is a small post by US Army standards, and has no ranges or field training areas. Most of its private quarters are occupied by officers, among whom include many prominent generals assigned to the Department of Defense atthe Pentagon . Some of the more notable of Fort Myer's residents include the Army Chief of Staff General George W. Casey, Jr., theAir Force Chief of Staff , GeneralT. Michael Moseley , and theChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , AdmiralMichael Mullen , (USN).Now listed on the
National Register of Historic Places , Fort Myer was originally established as Fort Whipple during theAmerican Civil War in 1863. It was renamed for Brigadier GeneralAlbert J. Myer , who established theSignal School of Instruction for Army and Navy Officers there in 1869. Fort Myer was the location of several exhibition flights byOrville Wright in 1908 and 1909. OnSeptember 18 ,1908 it was the location of the first aviation fatality, as Lt.Thomas Selfridge was killed when on a demonstration flight with Orville, at an altitude of about 100 feet, a propeller split, sending the aircraft out of control. Selfridge was killed in the crash, the first person to die in powered fixed-wing aircraft. Orville was badly injured, suffering broken ribs and a leg. The brothers' sister Katharine, a school teacher, rushed from Dayton to Washington and stayed by Orville's side for the many weeks of his hospitalization. She helped negotiate a one-year extension of the Army's contract with the Wrights.Fort Myer is the home of The U. S. Army Band ("Pershing's Own") and the 1st Battalion of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, ("The Old Guard") -- except for 'A' Company ("Commander in Chief's Guard"), which is stationed at Fort McNair, D.C. The gravesite of Black Jack, the riderless horse in the state funerals of General
Douglas MacArthur and U.S. PresidentsJohn F. Kennedy ,Herbert Hoover andLyndon B. Johnson , is located on the post in Summerall Field, 200 feet northeast of theparade ground's flagpole.Fort Myer, due to its proximity to Arlington National Cemetery, is also the base of operations for most Services' Honor Guards and burial teams. A large percentage of burials in Arlington National Cemetery originate from Old Post Chapel, one of the two chapels on Fort Myer. Every weekday around noon, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines can all be seen eating lunch together at the post cafeteria as they take a break from the days somber activities.
Events
*
Eastern Trombone Workshop References
External links
* [http://www.fmmc.army.mil/sites/local/ official website]
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/aviation/ Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service "Discover Our Shared Heritage" Travel Itinerary]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.