[align=left]




1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the [/align]
tomb of the Unknowns and why?[/align]21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the

highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.
[/align]
2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his

return walk and why?[/align]
21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1 [/align]
[/align]

3. Why are his gloves wet?[/align]His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the
rifle.

[/align]4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time

and if not, why not?[/align]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. [/align]
[/align]
5. How often are the guards changed?[/align]Guards are changed every thirty minutes,
twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

[/align]
6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?[/align]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
[font=verdana][

 

OOOOO AHHHH!! C 3/32 FA RGT

 

What/where is this tomb and what really is the significance of it? No disrespect meant to any fallen heroes, but what is it being guarded from?

 

Throughout history, many soldiers have died in numerous wars without their remains being identified. In modern times, nations have developed the practice of having a symbolic Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that represents the war grave of those unidentified soldiers. They usually contain the remains of a dead soldier who is unidentified (or "known but to God" as the stone is sometimes inscribed), and is thought to be impossible to ever identify. Much work goes into trying to find a certain soldier, and to verify that it is indeed one of the relevant nation's soldiers.
Perhaps the first memorial of this kind in the world is the 1849 Landsoldaten ("Foot Soldier") monument of the First War of Schleswig in Fredericia, Denmark. Another early memorial of this kind is the 1866 memorial to the unknown dead of the American Civil War.
The modern trend was started by the United Kingdom in 1920 when it buried an Unknown Warrior on behalf of all First World War British Empire forces in Westminster Abbey. This was a significant gesture since Westminster Abbey is the place where monarchs, the nobility and other people of high esteem are buried. Part of the inscription on the stone reads:
They buried him among the kings Because he Had done good toward God and Toward His house
Other nations followed this example. A famous tomb is the one in France under the Arc de Triomphe that was installed in 1921 honouring the unknown dead of the First World War.
These tombs are also used to commemorate the unidentified fallen of later wars. Although monuments have been built as recently as 1982 in the case of Iraq, 1993 in the case of Australia, and 2004 in the case of New Zealand.

above taken from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of...nknown_Soldier

 

Comon Minus. Please dont disrespect the people who have been involved with giving you the right so speak as you wish here. You seriously need to study this subject. Are you not a citizen of this country, do you not have friends or family that serve this country in the Armed Forces?

 

[quote]ORIGINAL: MisterBasket

[align=left]Tomb of the Unknown Soldier[/align][align=left]




1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the [/align]
tomb of the Unknowns and why?
[/align]21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the

highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.

[/align]
2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his

return walk and why?
[/align]
21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1
[/align]

[/align]

3. Why are his gloves wet?
[/align]His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the
rifle.


[/align]4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time

and if not, why not?
[/align]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.
[/align]

[/align]
5. How often are the guards changed?
[/align]Guards are changed every thirty minutes,
twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.


[/align]
6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?
[/align]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
[font=verdana][color=black][size=2]requirements of the Guard: They must commit 2 years o

 

I have served in the U.S. Navy and while I was stationed at Damn Neck,Virginia for my A-school training I took a trip to D.C. and saw the Tomb of the Unkown Soldier. It was very moving. I had never been more proud to serve than at that moment. Minus, to give you a little insight on the subject, from the first moment you get assigned a division and get to your barracks you are being drilled on the importance of maintaining a proper watch at all times, not only for fire, disturbance or other such events but also because there is always someone somewhere in the world trying to do you harm, so the sooner you learn the importance of maintaining a proper watch the better. They teach you that you are all one "unit", group, etc., etc. and that you get no where just looking out for yourselves, you have to watch out for each other. You cannot beat the camaderie that is formed under fire, or when you work and live in close contact with someone for an extended amount of time. I dont care what uniform you wear be it Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and yes even the Coast Guard. When the stuff gets hot and deep you look out for your fellow brothers and sisters in arms and when you lose someone like that for whatever reason (enemy gunfire, training accident, blue on blue, etc) you feel like you have lost a piece of yourself...you wouldn't be out there if you didnt have pride in your country standing up for what you think is right. Its our nature to look over our wounded or dead comrades, so in a way its a geat honor to look over your "brother" or "sister" since they cannot do it for themselves. Knowing they paid the ultimate sacrifice for your freedom in my opinion makes them part of a family that they would not of otherwise had, since they are still "unkown" for whatever reasons that may be. Do you not go and visit your families graves every once in awhile and take them roses, do minor tidying up around the grave, just to say "Hey I still think about you or I still care...?" Well in this case your saying thank you for all the sacrifices they made so I can stand here today and proudly serve beside you and if necessary join you in an instant to stand up for what I believe is right. Once again these are just my personal opinions and take on the situation. I did not mean to offend, make anyone feel bad, wronged, or stupid. I actually hope to enlighten others on the situation, or even just throw another opinion out there.

 

P.S. Minus thanks for taking the time to ask and find out rather than making an incorrect assumption.

 

Dont get me wrong I am proud of everyone that has worn the uniform, and proud of my time as well. My Old Guard Ceremonial Hat sits right next to my PC (the same one that I worn when I did wreath ceremonies at the Tomb).

I just provided my answers because while Tomb Guards are unique its just like the noobs who dont wear gear, there are some bad ones out there too. I know of one that is in prison right now.

 

This is a good post.
Thank you to all who are serving and have served.
BRAVO - ZULU
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