Mattis spent Veterans Day with fallen warriors in Arlington National Cemetery

On Veterans Day 2017, U.S. Army veteran David Brown was walking around an area of Arlington National Cemetery that was far removed from the holiday crowd of tourists and volunteers. He came across an older man walking alone among the tombstones in Section 60 – where those killed in action in the Global War on Terror are laid to rest.

The man was Secretary of Defense (and retired Marine Corps General) James Mattis.

There were no cameras or news reporters walking with the retired general. He was dressed respectfully in a black tie and jacket, walking through the rows of graves. As Brown put it, "Defense Secretary James Mattis spent his Veterans Day with the recent fallen."

Brown then watched Mattis as he spoke with others visiting Section 60. Mattis listened to the stories of those visiting their lost loved ones. And overheard an exchange between the general and a Gold Star Father.

"An old man visiting his Marine son's grave told Mattis that he was his boy's hero; the Warrior Monk smiled sadly and said that the old man's son was one of his."

Brown snapped a selfie with the secretary and posted it to his Facebook page. The comments on the photo were full of stories of personal encounters with Mattis and love for the general and his long history of  supporting American troops.

Comments ranged from "General Mattis is a national treasure and we are very lucky that he remains in service to the United States of America," to "THAT IS F**KING COOL AS SH*T BRO!!!" – a testament to the wide respect the General earned in both his time in the Marine Corps to his service as SECDEF.