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NOTE from RFFM's Executive Director, Dan Zanoza: The following commentary is the second installment of three in RFFM.org's Memorial Day series which honors those who have fallen in the defense of liberty. First posted on Feb. 22, 2010, author Lyle J. Rapacki PhD. writes about Arlington National Cemetery's Old Guard and a tradition based on respect and memoriam to those who keep vigil over hallowed ground. Not all of Washington, D.C. was shut-down recently because of snow. At the Tomb of the Unknowns, members of "The Old Guard" continued to walk post; just like they have every day, every night,...

We heard that Phelps’ demon clan was to be at Arlington Cemetery on Sunday so we quickly amended our Saturday permit to include Sunday. Some of the Gathering of Eagles members who were in town Saturday to keep watch over our Military Memorials joined the DC Chapter. We were pleasantly surprised to see some of Arlington’s Old Guard joining us. And they were pleased to see us. While the Old Guard could not hold any signs their presence was very noticeable and welcomed. BELOW LEFT: Old Guard before Phelps showed up. BELOW LEFT: Photo Op. Concretebob is hiding but if...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Lyle J Rapacki is a frequent contributor to RFFM.org. Rapacki is an independent intelligence analyst who receives and disseminates critical intelligence and policy information for and to law enforcement, intelligence and homeland security officials and operatives, and government and community leaders. He is the author of dozens of white papers, bulletins and briefings, and is frequently called on to share his expertise with public and private security directors and organizations. Not all of Washington, D.C. was shut-down recently because of snow. At the Tomb of the Unknowns, members of "The Old Guard" continued to walk post; just like...

Arlington authorities are searching the banks of the Potomac River below the George Washington Parkway for a motorcyclist that may have driven off a cliff. ABC 7/NewsChannel 8's Scott Thuman reports the GW Parkway is closed in both directions. United States Park Police are assisting in the search which is centered near the Spout Run Parkway. A park police spokesperson said they got a report that a motorcycle drove off the GW Parkway around 6:15 p.m. near the first overlook. -snip-

Old Guard Soldier Master Sgt. Steven Colbert places a flag on a gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery. This year he brought along his son, Jordan, 8, to assist. Photo by Adam Skoczylas FORT MYER, Va. (Army News Service, May 23, 2008) -- The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) began their rounds Thursday afternoon to place a small American flag into the ground in front of every grave marker at Arlington National Cemetery. The Old Guard became the Army's official ceremonial unit in 1948 and on that Memorial Day every available member of the regiment stood one foot in...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 26, 2006 – They are the very public face of ultimate military discipline. They wow stadiums packed with football fans with complex rifle drills. They honor fallen comrades with solemn processions. They guard the Tomb of the Unknowns around the clock at Arlington National Cemetery. and on Dec. 15, they gave outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld a full-honors farewell ceremony on the Pentagon parade field. Despite their high-profile mission, many people, even those who serve in the military, have little idea what goes into becoming a member of this elite unit. That’s why the Pentagon Channel...

FORT MYER, Va. (Army Public Affairs, Nov. 7, 2006) – With Veterans Day approaching, citizens have begun looking at the sacrifices servicemembers have endured to protect the freedoms of America. Last Friday, the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) recognized individuals who made huge sacrifices in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom by hosting patients from Walter Reed Army Medical Center to an all-day event. Cpt. Eric Stainbrook, Staff Sergeants Mia Sidlasky and Eric Sundell, Sgt. Ryan Hackett and Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Ahern laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery...

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) - Spec. Maxwell Ramsey made small kissing sounds as he tried to coax Wylie, a muscular black Percheron horse, over to the platform where the soldier stood. He swung the metal and plastic limb that is his new left leg over Wylie's back and sat down in the saddle. "Relax your leg. Take a deep breath. Remember you are sitting on a big old cushion," Mary Jo Beckman, a therapeutic riding instructor, said to Ramsey as he and Wylie headed out into a dusty yard at Fort Myer. The black and white horses that usually pull caissons...

Midst of a week filled with regular ceremonial and tactical duties, Soldiers from the Old Guard rendered honors to President George W. Bush through their participation in the 55th Presidential Inauguration Jan. 20. The participation, which included musical, hand and horse-mounted salutes, was an opportunity for Soldiers from the Army's oldest active infantry unit to pay tribute to the commander-in-chief and to be a part of an historical moment. Photo by Dennis Ryan The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps proudly steps down Pennsylvania Avenue while watched by thousands of people. Soldiers from the 3rd US Infantry Regiment expressed subdued...

Maj. Gen. Galan B. Jackman, commanding general of the Military District of Washington, welcomes Spc. Eric M. McKeeby as the Bravo Company Soldier and photojournalist arrives with his unit from a seven-month Horn of Africa deployment.photo by Spc. Jeremy Kern The weather was cold in December when The Old Guard's Bravo Company -- Team Battlehard -- left Fort Myer for duty in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. The Soldiers returned to a hero's welcome on a gorgeous summer's day. Djibouti is a small, impoverished country in the horn of Africa, formerly known as the Territory of the Afars...

The story of the beautiful and haunting riderless horse in Ronald Reagan's funeral procession begins with the truth that a race horse suffering a case of the slows costs just as much in room and board as Secretariat did. The slows can be hazardous to a horse's health because some owners, sentimental as fire hydrants, dump horses faster than J-Lo dumps husbands. As to where they dump them, the words to remember are these from Dave Brandwine: "I didn't want to send him to the glue factory." Yikes. But business is business. Like his horses, Brandwine has to eat, and,...

  Soldiers Reflect on Carrying Reagan's Casket By Kathleen T. RhemAmerican Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, June 10, 2004 – When Justin Rogers and Travis Sullivan were born, Ronald Reagan was president of the United States. A joint-service honor guard transfers former President Ronald Reagan's casket from a hearse to a caisson during a historic ceremony in Washington June 9. Army Spc. Travis Sullivan, from "The Old Guard" ceremonial unit, is at the left rear. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Samuel Shavers, USN(Click photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution image available. The evening of June 9, these two young men, now...

Arrival at Andrews Air Force Base scheduled for 5 P.M. EDT. Beginning of procession: 16th and Constitution at 6:00 P.M. --------- The procession begins at 16 th Street and Constitution Avenue with the ceremonial transfer of remains of former President Ronald Reagan from a hearse to a horse-drawn caisson for the processional to the Capitol. The casket transfer will take place at 6 p.m. and caisson continues east with formal military escort. The public will be able to pay final respects while the remains lie in state in the Capitol rotunda from 7:00 p.m. through Friday, June 11, 2004 at...

"TONIGHT'S FOCUS: They honor the nation's fallen. Standing guard over the Tomb of the Unknowns, and providing the honor guards for all of the funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. They are the Old Guard. And we will honor the Fallen from the war on terrorism as part of tonight's broadcast.... ...As part of tonight's broadcast, we'll have a live camera at the Tomb for the changing of the guard." -----

An American political cartoon from 1937 has prompted nutty Iranian protesters to don bloody shrouds and clog the streets. "Call it the cartoon crisis. The domino-style fallout over the Depression-era sketch displays the wildly unpredictable nature of Iranian politics," the Associated Press reported. The beef? The Hayat-e-Nou newspaper, now closed by the regime, published last week an antique caricature of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt pressing down on the head of a Supreme Court justice. Irate Iranians decided the robed, white-bearded judge in the cartoon resembled the evil (and long-dead) S.O.B. terrorist and kidnapper Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. "It's not clear why...

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier honors the unknown servicemen who have fallen in the four major U.S. Conflicts of the 20th Century: World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam Conflict. In 1926, the tomb was placed under a day guard during the hours which the cemetery was open to visitors, but in 1937, the tomb was placed under a 24-hour military honor guard. The responsibility of the guarding of the tomb was taken over by the Third United States Infantry, "The Old Guard" in 1948, and the practice continues today. To be a tomb...