This is the grave of Technical Sergeant Leonard Matlovich. It does not bear his name because he intended to be a monument to all gay veterans. Today marks 46 years since he appeared of the cover of Time magazine

This is be one source of the symbolism, but it's not the only one. Here's a reference to a Nazi commemorative stamp of one of the most brutal Nazi leaders and organizer of the Holocaust - Reinhard Heydrich, issued by the Nazis themselves after he was assassinated by British-trained Czechoslovakian commandos in 1942.

Look at the birth and death dates on the stamp, and you'll see the same upside and downside pointing shapes.

Surely the Nazis wouldn't use the same symbolism for their own leaders as for those of their victims, right?

It's actually an ancient symbol of birth and death. The down-pointing shape represents a kid raising their hand, or symbolically, birth and youth. The down-pointing shape represents a funeral pyre, an ancient way to bury, and symbol of death and last rites.

So I think the image combines both this ancient symbolism, as well as possibly a symbol of Nazi-era victims.

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