File:Columbia - Iran - Challenger - Maine Mast - Arlington National Cemetery - 2011.JPG

English: Looking east across Section 46 of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States. There are three large memorial markers to the left. They are (l to r): Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial, Iran Hostage Rescue Mission Memorial, and the Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial. In the background is the USS Maine Mast Memorial.

The Space Shuttle Columbia broke up and was destroyed on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003. President George W. Bush signed legislation on April 16, 2003, establishing a memorial to the disaster. Artist Barbara Prey designed the bronze plaque which is affixed to the grey granite marker. The memorial was dedicated on February 2, 2002.

The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff on January 28, 1986. The remains of Captain Michael Smith and Commander Francis "Dick" Scobee were identified and interred at Arlington. The remains of the five other individuals aboard the shuttle could not (at that time) be identified, and were cremated. A group burial occurred near Scobee's grave in Section 46. On June 12, 1986, Congress passed legislation establishing a Space Shuttle Challenger memorial. The families agreed to erect the memorial on top of the grave holding the cremated remains. Artist Robert Harding designed the bronze plaque which is affixed to the front of the monument. The poem "High Flight" by John Gillespie Magee, Jr., is inscribed on the memorial's rear. The memorial was dedicated on March 21, 1987, by Vice President George H.W. Bush.

On November 4, 1979, an Iranian mob seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 66 Americans hostage. With the hostage crisis continuing and no resolution in sight, President Jimmy Carter authorized a secret military operation to rescue the hostages. During a rendezvous in the Iranian desert in a sandstorm on April 25, 1980, two of the aircraft involved in the rescue mission collided. Eight American military personnel died. Their bodies were returned to the United States. The hostages were freed on January 20, 1981. A memorial to the memory of the eight dead was dedicated on April 25, 1983.

The Iran Rescue Mission Memorial was moved a short distance to be next to the Space Shuttle Columbia and Space Shuttle Challenger memorials.

The USS Maine blew up with extensive loss of life while at anchor in Havana, Cuba, on February 15, 1898. The incident, long believed to be sabotage, sparked the Spanish-American War. ((Modern historians believe the explosion may have been an accident.) On March 30, 1898, Congress approved legislation requiring that the recovered dead of the Maine be disinterred and transferred from Havana to Arlington National Cemetery. Delayed by the war, this burial occurred on December 28, 1899. Only 165 bodies were interred in Section 24: 63 were known, 102 were unknown. In 1910, Congress enacted legislation authorizing the raising of the USS Maine, recovery of the bodies aboard, and the raising of the mast at Arlington as a memorial. The wreck was raised in 1912. Only 66 bodies were recovered. One sailor's family buried him privately, while the other 65 were interred at Arlington. None of the remains were identified.

The USS Maine Mast Monument was dedicated on February 15, 1915. Norcross Brothers Company designed and constructed the memorial. The monument consists of a broad plaza of concrete. Set in the center is a mausoleum in the shape of a battleship gun turret. The mausoleum is 33 feet, 6 inches across. The walls are 3 feet, 6 inches thick and 7 feet, 1 inch high. The mausoleum is constructed of granite, with the interior walls lined with marble and the floor lined with polished tile. An inner and outer bronze door provide access to the interior of the mausoleum. The inner door is 3 feet, 3 inches wide and 7 feet high, and half of the USS Maine's bell is welded to its surface. An inscription on the door reads: "USS MAINE, Navy Yard, New York, 1894." The outer bronze door is in the shape of a grille and of the same dimensions. A small bronze anchor is welded to this door. Inside the mausoleum are two granite funeral urns set on tripods. Each is 3 feet, 5 inchest tall and 2 feet wide. Each tripod stands on a square marble base. The names of the dead are inscribed on the exterior of the mausoleum, while over the door is a memorial inscription describing the disaster.

On the south side of the plaza are two bronze cannon from captured Spanish naval vessels. A huge anchor adorns the plaza, but this is not from the USS Maine but rather an anonymous anchor donated by the Boston Navy Yard. A bronze memorial plaque on the anchor also describes the disaster.