Fw: Arlington Cemetery

This is very touching to see done. A group from a CAP Squadron in Broken
Arrow has been trained and is permitted to re-create this from Saturday 1300,
(1:00 PM) until 1700 (5:00 PM) each Memorial Day weekend at Floral Haven
Cemetary in front of a full scale replica of the Tomb and is the ONLY such
unit allowed to do so. I could detect NO deviation this year. Bob
----- Original Message -----
From: Jdeloach
To: McDowell, Robert W. , Jr. , No. 2 ; J McGuire ; Jim White
Sent: Friday, August 30, 2019 4:21 PM
Subject: Fwd: Arlington Cemetery
Begin forwarded message:
From: Jim Holman <hii@tulsacoxmail.com>
Date: August 30, 2019 at 12:27:08 CDT
To: (All listed names deleated for privacy)
Subject: FW: Fwd: Arlington Cemetery
-------- Begin forwarded message --------
Subject: Fwd: Arlington Cemetery
Date: 8/28/19 3:57:25 PM
From: "Barbara"
To: hii@tulsacoxmail.com
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: Suzy Laird < suzy.laird@yahoo.com>
Date: August 13, 2019 at 7:56:05 AM CDT
Subject: Arlington Cemetery

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? Answer: 21; 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? Answer: 21 seconds for the same reason as answer number one.
3. Why are his gloves wet? Answer: 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?
Answer: 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? Answer: 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? Answer: For a person
to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he (or she now) must be between 5' 10' and 6' 2'
tall and his/her 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 smoke or 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
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.

Virus-free. www.avg.com