On Jeopardy the other night, the final question was: “How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the Tomb of the Unknown?”

All three missed it.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

1. How many steps does the guard take during his
walk across the Tomb of the Unknown 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 wait after his about face to begin his return walk and why?

21 seconds for the same reason as above.

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 for 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 recipient 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

Minor correction to #5...

When does the Changing of the Guard take place?

The times that the ceremony takes place are dependent on the time of year.

April 1 through September 30th

Every 30 minutes from 8 am to 7 pm (19:00)

October 1 through March 31st

Every 60 minutes from 8 am to 5 pm (17:00)

The ceremonial Changing of the Guard takes place 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. It takes place every 2 hours when the cemetery is closed.

I never knew.
thanks for posting

Sobering. Much respect to the men and ideals of this honor.

And female service members ever assigned?

Good stuff. Would have thought at least 1 of the 3 could have guessed 21.

May of 2012.

If you don’t think this is honorable then you should move to a third world country

Don’t we have a member on here that served in the guard ?

Or just wait around here. It's coming soon enough.

You damn right!!!

A friends son was a Guard there. When the US Constitution went on tour around the country he was also chosen as one of the Marine Guards that accompanied it on the tour.

This topic had come up before, it's not as strict as shown above.

https://tombguard.org/society/faq

Charlie

I'm sure the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is on the menu. It's only a matter of time before it is spray painted and called racist or supremasist.

Yes we have a member that was a member of the Old Guard. I do not think he was a tomb guard but did other details in the cemetery in honor of the families. I’ll allow them to identify themselves.

Dedication.

I think that defacement wouldn't be tolerated by the guards.

A little aside the 3RD Infantry Regiment fought in the last Indian Uprising at Sugar Point in Minnesota. For many years the 3/3rd Inf was a reserve unit in MN and wore the Old Guard cord. It was deactivated in 1994.

I can assure you.
you attempt to spray paint, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
You will be, easily identified.
You'll be the one, with all the holes.