Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier

This Is Almost Unbelievable.

This Must Take A Special Kind Of Person.

1. How many steps does the guard take during his
walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why?

21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute,
which is the highest honor given any military or
foreign dignitary.

2. How long does he hesitate after his about face
to begin his return walk and why?

21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1.

3. Why are his gloves wet?

His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his
grip on the rifle.

4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder
all the time, and if not, why not?

He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the
tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an
about face, and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.

5. How often are the guards changed?

Guards are changed every thirty minutes,
twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. What are the physical traits of the guard
limited to?

For a person to apply for guard duty at the
tomb, he must be between 5′ 10" and 6′ 2" tall and his
waist size cannot exceed 30."

Other Requirements Of The Guard:

They must commit 2 years of life to guard the
tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot
drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives.

They cannot swear in public for the rest of
their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting}
or the tomb in any way.

After two years, the guard is given a
wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they
served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400
presently worn.

The guard must obey these rules for the rest of
their lives or give up the wreath pin.

The shoes are specially made with very thick soles
to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are
metal heel plates that extend to the top of the
shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a
halt. There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform.

Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror.

The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk
to anyone, nor watch TV.

All off duty time is spent studying the 175
notable people laid to rest in Arlington National
Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are
and where they are interred. Among the notables are:
President Taft, Joe E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of
Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most decorated soldier
of WWII} of Hollywood fame.

Every guard spends five hours a day getting his
uniforms ready for guard duty.

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD,
AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

I don’t know if you saw this in the news but it really
impressed me. Funny, our US Senate/House took 2 days
off as they couldn’t work because of the expected
storm.

On the ABC evening news, it was reported tonight that,
because of the dangers from Hurricane Isabelle
approaching Washington DC, the military members
assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier were given permission to suspend the
assignment.

They respectfully declined the offer, "No way, Sir!"

Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a
tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was
not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that
can be afforded to a serviceperson.

The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since
1930.

We can be very proud of our young men and women in
the service no matter where they serve. God Bless them.