Galley Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 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 on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public or the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform (fighting) 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. I don't know if you saw this in the news but it really impressed me. Funny, our US Senate/House took 2 days off as they couldn't work because of the expected storm. On the ABC evening news, it was reported tonight that, because of the dangers from Hurricane Isabelle approaching Washington DC, 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. We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve. God Bless them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PseudoRandomDragon Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 I have actually seen it. Very interesting stuff, didn't know all that was a requirement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galley Posted July 19, 2004 Author Share Posted July 19, 2004 Visit these sites for more info and photos: Arlington Cemetery Tomb site "The Old Guard" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linsook Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 how come they have to guard it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japlabot Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 These men must have some phycological disorder to be able to physically and mentally cope with the job :| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaded Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 linsook, as far as i understand it, it is to honour the people who died fighting but could not be given a proper burial since their names were not known Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Allen Veteran Posted July 19, 2004 Veteran Share Posted July 19, 2004 Very impressive. Quite honorable if you ask me. (Y) "Good job soldier." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemo Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 linsook, as far as i understand it, it is to honour the people who died fighting but could not be given a proper burial since their names were not known that's what I'm under the impression it is..... being one of those guards is a very respectfed honor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennyout Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 let alone what is the point of gaurding linsook?...thats what i want to know and why do they have to do those things....they seem like the perfect job for antisocial people....i mean underground...molepeople? why is it looking like a religious thing?....i mean its like preisthood looking at it. are they guarding to ward off evil sprits of no named dead ones who may rise again? he must be between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30." hmmm thats kind of hard for some people...i mean once you get above 5'10" waist size 30 gets a little hard to be around....not for health wize, but for general bone/whatnot build...they must have like 1% body fat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aem4162 Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 These men must have some phycological disorder to be able to physically and mentally cope with the job :| phycological: The branch of botany that deals with algae. does that mean that anyone who guards the tomb also practices algology? :rolleyes: it's an honor to guard the tomb of the unknown soldier. the soldiers are trained to do their job and "cope" with it. no one with a psychological disorder would be allowed to guard the tomb. i've been to arlington national cemetery a couple of times and seeing the guards is truly amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threetonesun Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 hmmm thats kind of hard for some people...i mean once you get above 5'10" waist size 30 gets a little hard to be around....not for health wize, but for general bone/whatnot build...they must have like 1% body fat? No, if you're in good shape a 30'' waist is normal for someone of that height. You must be confused by all the fat Americans out there ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linsook Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 what if your 6`2, a 30 inch waste a damn tiny. im 6`1 - 34 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azcodemonkey Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 Sorry to debunk this, but some of the "facts" are wrong. They can drink. They can swear. Here's a site for the former guards. http://www.tombguard.org/FAQ.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Veteran Posted July 20, 2004 Veteran Share Posted July 20, 2004 Has anyone ever tried to get past the Tomb guards, or attempted to deface the Tomb?Yes, that is the reason why we now guard the Tomb. Back in the early 1920's, we didn't have guards and the Tomb looked much different (see attached picture). People often came to the cemetery in those days for picnics during which time some would actually use the Tomb as a picnic area (probably because of the view). Soon after, 1925, they posted a civilian guard; in 1926, a military guard was posted during cemetery hours; and on July 1, 1937, this was expanded to the 24-hour watch. Since then, the ceremony has developed throughout the years to what we have today. Today, most of the challenges faced by the Sentinels are tourists who want to get a better picture or uncontrolled children (which generally is very frightening for the parent when the Soldier challenges the child). However, there have been moments of concern, like in 1984 when a former government employee took the Sentinel hostage with a handgun. In that situation, the Tomb Guards not on duty were alerted and proceeded to tackle the gunman from behind - no one was injured. FAQ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threetonesun Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 what if your 6`2, a 30 inch waste a damn tiny. im 6`1 - 34 True, at 6'2'' it would be pretty small. Whatever, we know this is mostly BS now anway :rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PseudoRandomDragon Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 This would be a great thing to put on a resume. They go through all this to show the upmost respect to the "unknown soldier". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b3ta Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 how come they have to guard it? Exactly. Not like someone is going to get up from the grave and run a much in down town - Where'evers'ville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Veteran Posted July 20, 2004 Veteran Share Posted July 20, 2004 ,Jul 19 2004, 22:25] Exactly. Not like someone is going to get up from the grave and run a much in down town - Where'evers'ville Has anyone ever tried to get past the Tomb guards, or attempted to deface the Tomb?Yes, that is the reason why we now guard the Tomb. read next time before you shoot your mouth off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b3ta Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 read next time before you shoot your mouth off So the guard is there to stop people defacing it. Okay. Is the guard there 24/7? Just wondering. PS. I'm not shooting my mouth off - I'm typing not speaking - so it's not possible to stop myself doing something I'm not in the first place. :dontgetit: :happy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PseudoRandomDragon Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 The purpose of it really is not to guard it, it is to show respect. Having a person follow a certain routene every single day at exact times shows much more respect than any tombstone could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVO VIII Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 wow that really shows utmost respect and dedication Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digipoi Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 ,Jul 19 2004, 16:35]So the guard is there to stop people defacing it. Okay. Is the guard there 24/7?Just wondering. PS. I'm not shooting my mouth off - I'm typing not speaking - so it's not possible to stop myself doing something I'm not in the first place. :dontgetit: :happy: 5. How often are the guards changed?Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. Guess you would be typing your fingers off when you should be reading your eyeballs out then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digipoi Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 why is it looking like a religious thing?....i mean its like preisthood looking at it. I was going to make a joke about it being similar to being a nun. Dang, that job takes a whole lot of discipline. Much more than I could imagine. Gotta give it up for them. A much respectable thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chode Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 Geez, I thought this was a thread referring to The Tomb of The Unknown Soldier here in Australia, at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra actually. :| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pencilmonkey Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 More facts on the tomb. The Tomb of the Unknowns has been guarded continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, since July 1, 1937. Inclement weather does not cause the watch to cease. Soldiers are specially trained to not show the effect the weather may have on them. In the fall of 2003, Hurricane Isabelle moved through the Washington, DC area. The winds were so strong that trees were knocked down though the guards did not leave their post and continued to walk the mat. The Tomb Guards make personal sacrifices to have the honor of serving. They work on a team rotation of 24 hours on, 24 hours off, 24 on, 24 off, 24 on, and 96 hours off. An average guard takes 8 hours to prepare his uniform for the next day's work. In addition to preparing the uniform, guards also complete physical training, Tomb Guard training, and haircuts before the next work day. Dang....my apologies, this has ben posted....thought I was contributing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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