Makes me proud!
Posted on 02/13/2014 12:08:50 PM PST by jazusamo
The federal government may have shut its doors due to weather conditions — but the guards tasked to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier aren’t so quick to abandon their posts.
With what’s being billed as the storm of the season dumping inches of snow on the Washington, D.C., region, leaving a cloud of closures in its wake — Capitol Hill, area schools, airports, Metro bus service and almost all government offices in Maryland, the capital city and Virginia — the stalwart sentries for some of America’s most revered military sites stand tall and fast.
The Society of the Honor Guard's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier website sees its mission this way: “The guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (we call ourselves ‘Sentinels’) are completely dedicated to their duty of guarding the Tomb. Because of that dedication, the weather does not bother them. In fact, they consider it an honor to stand their watch (we call it ‘walking the mat’), regardless of the weather. It gets cold, it gets hot — but the Sentinels never budge. And they never allow any feeling of cold or heat to be seen by anyone.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
it was my favorite part of all we saw in WDC last summer... actually, the tour of Arlington National Cemetery was my favorite... it was horribly hot the day we went to the cemetery... i felt for the "Sentinels..." it was awful... i believe they switch every hour--which seems tolerable...
Did Barry put up his Barrycades and yellow police tape with the government being shut down. Why is it only the end of the world when the GOP shuts it down? Weird.
Jaz, thank you for posting this. The Old Guard guards the tombs day and night, irrespective of the weather.
When I was there, it was -3 degrees with a bitter wind. They were changing the Guard every 15 minutes to keep them from getting frostbite. I have a tremendous amount of respect for these fine young men.
Amen to that and they certainly deserve our respect.
I visited the Tomb a few years ago. It was sprinkling when we got to Arlington but by time we got to the Tomb, it was pouring. We huddled under an umbrella as we watched the Sentinel walk his watch up and about face and back and about face and repeat ... The rain poured down his face, running into his eyes ... and he didn’t even BLINK.
It was an awesome sight. And an awesome site. Truly hallowed ground.
bttt
I wish when someone gets out of line there the just shoot the bastards instead of a stern reprimand
Makes me proud!
I still remember my first visit in the 50s.
Two youngsters, maybe 6 to 8 ran to the Tomb and the Guard halted, came to port arms and in a very firm command informed them to return to the viewing area or some such thing.
He got their attention and their parents attention immediately. When they returned he continued.
Amen, they are flawless.
Thank you for posting this. God bless these men.
Me too.
Gosh, I love those M-14s.
Wow!-Impressive-God Bless them. They set an example for all of us.
The media scumbags would rather slobber over a gay football player who is courages, brave and an inspiration because he makes love to other men
Thanks for the ping. They remind us that there is such a thing as honor.
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