Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (VANITY)

5/29/2006 | CAWats

[CAWats]

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." 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 or smoke 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 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 serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.

God Bless and keep them.

[Rushmore Rocks]

Thank you.

[A.A. Cunningham]

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

Incorrect. No member of the military receives a 21-gun salute. The inaccuracies in this email have been previously dissected numerous times.

The 21-Gun Salute

[CAWats]

Sorry. It was from a trusted source.

[A message]

I am deeply humbled.

[MACVSOG68]

Yes, I've seen this before. But thank you for the reminder. We must never forget. God bless them all.

[Brooklyn Kid]

I'm noticing people referring to it as the Tomb of the Unknowns. I guess I can't remember when people started putting an 's' on the end.
Is this fairly new?

[SnarlinCubBear]

All my questions answered. Many thanks

[IronJack]

I visited the Tomb years ago during a trip to DC. The skies were sodden, as the skies are wont to be over Soggy Bottom. The lowering light made every color vivid, and lent a hush and an ethereal air to the tableau.

As we quietly approached the viewing area, it started to rain, softly at first, but then picking up volume. The rush of the drops in the trees added another, aural, dimension to the scene.

I watched the soldier get soaked to the bone, water dripping from the elbow of the arm that held his rifle, and spraying from his fingertips as he crisply executed each step. Like a machine ... down one pass, halt, about face, switch shoulders, then repeat in the other direction.

I commiserated his discomfort, knowing that the rain had to be running down his collar, into his shoes, probably soaking his underwear.

But I was amazed when he passed by our position and I saw that the rain was also streaming down his face, right into his eyes. AND HE NEVER EVEN BLINKED!!!

God spoke to me that day.

[CAWats]

Fox reports a See-BS reporter hurt by Iraq bomb. oh boy. Here it comes.

[bnelson44]

More info here:

http://www.tombguard.org/FAQ.html#There%20is%20a%20small green shack%20next%20to%20the tomb,%20what%20is%20it%20for?

[CAWats]

Thanks.

[bnelson44]

The Tomb contains the remains of unknown American soldiers from World Wars I and II, the Korean Conflict and (until 1998) the Vietnam War.

See:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/tombofun.htm

[Brooklyn Kid]

Thanks.
I guess I always called it the Tomb of the Unknown. (when leaving off the the word Soldier)

[bnelson44]

The remains of the man from Vietnam ended up being of an Air Force pilot.

Keven Outman, a Boy Scout and member of the Greater St. Louis Area Council, places a flag at the head stone of Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie Sunday, May 29, 2005, at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, as part of the 55th annual Memorial Day observance. Blassie, a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, was shot down in the vicinity of An Loc in South Vietnam, May 11, 1972. His remains were found later at the crash site. Blassie's remains were placed in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery until sophisticated identification techniques identifed him as the unknown soldier. St. Louis area scouts placed 152,000 flags at the head stones More than 4,000 scouts took part in the ceremony.

[SnarlinCubBear]

Let them whine. We expect no less.

I was in DC for the first time, 2 weeks ago. It's awesome. Saw the changing of the guard at the unknowns, and that was the first time I saw the ampitheatre on the site, where the President gave his speech. Most of the buildings in the area are bigger than life. I was gobsmacked!

[Joann37]

Chris Wallace had a nice story on this yesterday at the end of "Fox News Sunday".

Yesterday's "Power Player of the Week" segment is not yet posted, but if anyone's interested, it should be up in a few days at:

http://www.foxnews.com/fns/

[CAWats]

Thanks!

[Swordmaker]

This is a mixed bags of facts and fiction... check out Snopes for their take on which of these is true and which legend or outright fiction.