Interesting info on the Arlington Cemetary Honor Guard

dannymax · Mar 31, 2016

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,
JoeLewis {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,

OurUS
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