Sunday, August 28, 2011

The Old Guard

When all hell is breaking loose, when a hurricane is bearing down on Washington D.C., it is perfectly reasonable to expect people to hunker down, to take shelter, to get in out of the weather.

Not the Old Guard. Members of the US 3rd Infantry Regiment guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They guard it 24/7/365, regardless of weather. Regardless of hurricanes.
Members of The Old Guard have guarded the Tomb every second, of every day regardless of weather or holidays since April 6, 1948.
That's dedication to duty.


Well Done, gentlemen. Your example is noted and appreciated. I am in awe.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amen and Amen. Outstanding Job.

Old NFO said...

They were there all weekend... as always.

Skip said...

I have seen photos of them standing watch in blizzards a polar bear would hide from.

NavyOne said...

Great guys. My old boss was an Army Captain over there. Told me (as an almost retired LTC) that that place was his favorite posting. . .

Flintlock Tom said...

I never fail to get choked up when I read of such dedication.
In addition to the weather, the conditions under which they volunteer to serve are rigorous to say the least.

Peripatetic Engineer said...

I was once told by a Special Forces E9 that back in the 60s they put the borderline troops here under the theory that if they could nothing else, they could keep things spit shined. He was proud of the fact that he was able to motivate his troops and had a high re-enlistment ratio. BTW, he was the NCO leading the horse at Kennedy's funeral.

Anonymous said...

been there, done that. I was in the 3d US Infantry (The Old Guard) as a Platoon Sergeant. It was moment in my 22 years that I will always cherish as a professional soldier.

Robert said...

Honor still exists. Damn, the CRT is blurry again.