Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

[Jimi D Pirate]

On Jeopardy the other night, the final question was How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns ------ All three missed it ---


Tomb of the Unknown Soldier


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 an d 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.

In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington , DC , our

US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC

evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the

hurricane, 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 service person. The tomb has been patrolled continuously,

24/7, since 1930.


God Bless and keep them .




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


IN GOD WE TRUST

[markmopar]

some good info there, some not

http://www.snopes.com/military/unknown.asp

[Minelab Ron]

Being stationed at Ft Myers back in '74-'75 (I was assigned to BUPERS: Bureau of Naval Personnel and lived on Ft Myers)....I use to hang out in the barracks where the Honor Guard were housed. I'll have to find my pics...got pics of them "off duty" and "on duty". They looked so sharp in their uniforms and watching them "stand guard" was really amazing! To know (some of) them personally and then to see them so serious...!

I could not tell you right now, which barracks, but I can picture it in my mind and if we were to go there, I could point it out!!! I may have to take a road trip up now...to see the old place and see how it may have changed since then.

And are they jokesters!!! OMG, I was learning how to drive, I was only 19 at the time. My best friend had alot of patience with me! LOL. We were all in the parking lot and I was getting ready to take off (and I took off, was getting use to the gas pedal LOL). The guys got under the hood and were doing something. I can't remember the order how it went, but to give you an idea...whenever I put my foot on the brakes, the horn would blow. If I turned on my signal light, the wipers would go....as I said, I can't remember the order they did it..but scared the crap out of me, that I wound up going down a ONE WAY street the WRONG WAY! Thank God no cars were coming!!!

I don't know what it's like now, but I know what it was like back then, atleast with the guys I knew. They had recreational time, we spent many times together at Ocean City soaking up the sun. But mostly we just hung around the barracks, played lots of GIN RUMMY and MONOPOLY!!! LOL. They were great friends!!!

I wonder if I MySpace or Facebook them, I will find them!

Thank You for bringing up some wonderful memories for me!!!!

God Bless our Military EVERYWHERE (past and present)!!!
Annmarie

[Jeannie]

God Bless all of our troops and God bless America!

[fossis]

While I was stationed at Ft. Myer, & inspection time came around, the best you could hope for was second place,
because no other company could ever beat E company, (The Tomb Guards).
But we (company B) came in second a lot.

Fossis..............

[Minelab Ron]

While I was stationed at Ft. Myer, & inspection time came around, the best you could hope for was second place,
because no other company could ever beat E company, (The Tomb Guards).
But we (company B) came in second a lot.

Fossis..............

When were you there?

Annmarie

[fossis]

While I was stationed at Ft. Myer, & inspection time came around, the best you could hope for was second place,
because no other company could ever beat E company, (The Tomb Guards).
But we (company B) came in second a lot.

Fossis..............

When were you there?

Annmarie

I was there from 63 to 65.

Fossis..............

[brokenarrow]

what an honor it must be to serve in this unit.god bless those young men and women for their dedication and service.

[SoaringBob]

Last year crew members from my former ship were able to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. What an honor to just be there, and have the guards participate during their changing of the guard ceremony! For any of you vets out there visiting DC, don't miss a trip to Arlington.

We were in town for our annual reunion, and to dedicate our ship's plaque at the United States Navy Memorial and Historical Center, another don't miss for all you Navy types. http://www.navymemorial.org/

[johnnycat]

I was in D.C. for the dedication of the Vietnam Wall and also visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. What an honor it was to see the guards performing their duties.