[BITList] Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - Arlington Cemetery
michael J Feltham
ismay at mjfeltham.plus.com
Thu Dec 22 21:49:20 GMT 2016
>
>
> From a correspondent…
>
>
>
> Did you know this?
>
> The Jeopardy Question No One Could Answer
>
>
>
>
> 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 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.
>
>
>
> 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.
>
>
>
> I don't usually suggest that many emails be forwarded,
> but I'd be very proud if this one reached as many as possible.
> We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no
> matter where they serve.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20161222/70c246cb/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image010111.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 6594 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20161222/70c246cb/attachment-0005.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image011222.jpeg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 41850 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20161222/70c246cb/attachment-0004.jpeg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image012333.jpeg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 40251 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20161222/70c246cb/attachment-0005.jpeg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image013444.jpeg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 40145 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20161222/70c246cb/attachment-0006.jpeg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image014555.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 14219 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20161222/70c246cb/attachment-0006.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image015666.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 16868 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20161222/70c246cb/attachment-0007.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image016777.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 18175 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20161222/70c246cb/attachment-0008.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image017888.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 23622 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20161222/70c246cb/attachment-0009.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image018999.jpeg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 36206 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20161222/70c246cb/attachment-0007.jpeg>
More information about the BITList
mailing list