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Old 07-05-2015, 07:59 PM   #1
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Just a thought on this 4th of July weekend

God Bless and keep them.
ARLINGTON CEMETERY
Jeopardy
Question:
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 contestants missed it!
This is really an awesome sight to watch if you've never had the chance .
Fascinating. 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 and
his waist size cannot exceed 30.

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 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 Lewis {the boxer}
Medal of Honor winner Audie L. Murphy, the most
decorated soldier of WWII and 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.
I'd be
very proud if this email
reached as many as possible. We can be very
proud of our men
and
women
in the service no matter where they serve.
GOD BLESS AMERICA
THE LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE WHO KEEP IT THAT WAY!
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Old 07-05-2015, 08:14 PM   #2
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I knew most of that but thanks for the reminder. I have many family members buried at Arlington and when their time comes my parents will be buried there as well. Another interesting Arlington ton fact is husband's and wives are buried on top of each other, not side by side to preserve room in the cemetery. If a widower remarried, both wives are entitled to be buried there with him.

Thank you to all who have fought for this country and all who continue to fight for this country.
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Old 07-05-2015, 09:25 PM   #3
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Thanks for the refresher. I have visited the tomb several times and it is very sobering. I have a friend that I haven't seen in several years now but he was a guard. He takes the responsibility very serious and I have never seen him smoke drink or swear. We have talked often about what it was like being a guard. Very interesting.
Thanks for sharing.



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Old 07-06-2015, 01:58 PM   #4
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Sadly, considering the massive disdain that SOME of our political leaders have for the military and our fallen hero's, I'm surprised the guard duty detail hasn't been discontinued to shift the money to be used for more "bleeding-heart" causes.

Personally, I cry when I think of what the WW II generation did to assure our futures. I often wonder what would happen if something like Pearl Harbor happened today. Would we "step up to the plate" or just lay down and let the bad guys roll over us?

'Nuff said.

Boowho??
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Old 07-06-2015, 02:02 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boowho View Post
Sadly, considering the massive disdain that SOME of our political leaders have for the military and our fallen hero's, I'm surprised the guard duty detail hasn't been discontinued to shift the money to be used for more "bleeding-heart" causes.

Personally, I cry when I think of what the WW II generation did to assure our futures. I often wonder what would happen if something like Pearl Harbor happened today. Would we "step up to the plate" or just lay down and let the bad guys roll over us?

'Nuff said.

Boowho??
IMHO we already rolled over.

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Old 07-07-2015, 11:23 AM   #6
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Some of this is true, some of this is not. Here is a link to the FAQ page of tombguard.org.

https://tombguard.org/society/faq/
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Old 07-07-2015, 12:03 PM   #7
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Maybe something changed but I do know that Craig Smith was a guard in the 70's and part of his oath was no alcohol or tobacco for life. He has always lived up to those standards.



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Old 07-07-2015, 12:35 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil57 View Post
Maybe something changed but I do know that Craig Smith was a guard in the 70's and part of his oath was no alcohol or tobacco for life. He has always lived up to those standards.
Notwithstanding all of the other rigorous training the guards go though,the no tobacco,alcohol and profanity rules are IMO the most difficult to abide with.

That involves the true test of integrity - some people might abide with those type rules when someone is around,but the true test of integrity is to abide with them when no one is around.
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Old 07-08-2015, 08:26 AM   #9
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That would depend on the individual. I'm fortunate never to have acquired those particular habits. For me, the inclement weather, especially heat, would be the challenge. I certainly admire anyone who can live up to the standards. I never could.
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Old 07-08-2015, 12:50 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by wrottdog View Post
That would depend on the individual. I'm fortunate never to have acquired those particular habits. For me, the inclement weather, especially heat, would be the challenge. I certainly admire anyone who can live up to the standards. I never could.
Of course the weather is certainly a tough element to battle,but that's out in the open for all to see,especially the fellow guards. But the standards of no profanity,alcohol,tobacco,etc. on and off duty for the rest of your public and private life is IMO the true test of ones integrity.
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Old 07-08-2015, 01:14 PM   #11
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When my two children went to Washington with their 8th grade class, the class had the honor of presenting a wreath for the tomb. This trip was always taken in the fall. Since we owned a Christmas tree farm at the time, we made the wreaths for the presentation. We had to pull our equipment out early in the season to do it but it was very gratifying. We learned the wreaths stay on the tomb until the next presentation which can be as short as 30 minutes. They are then laid randomly on graves throughout the cemetery.
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Old 07-08-2015, 10:52 PM   #12
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Most of that is correct. Except the boy scout behavior for life. I think that applies only during that assignment.
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