ARLINGTON CEMETERY

If you haven't been to Arlington and witnessed the "Changing of the Guard" at the Tomb, you should add it to your "Bucket List".

Listed below is the Jeopardy Question no one could answer.           

ARLINGTON
CEMETERY



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. Very 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,

Joe Lewis {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 , 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.



I'd be
very proud if this email
reached as many as possible. We can be very
proud of our young men
and
women
in the service no matter where they serve.

IN
GOD WE TRUST
RiCK Tuesday 25 October 2011 - 6:15 pm | | Kearsarge Marines

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