39 years ago today

[longknife]

It’s hard to explain what it felt like to stand there and be honored by the elite Old Guard, US Army band, and Washington’s own.

[You cannot even begin to imagine what it’s like to be a member of this unit. Not just the spit and polish but endless hours of intense practice. And only the most elite of the elite get the ultimate honor – to stand guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.]

Here’s another video – indoors.



There’s a story about this you might enjoy.

One of my last assignments was to the American Embassy in Vienna. There, I frequently dealt with defense contractor representatives seeking to do business with the Austrian military. One of them was trying to work out a deal to sell F-5 aircraft through a joint construction deal with the Swiss who were building and selling them throughout Europe. Several other countries were also trying to sell their versions and Northrop spent a lot of time in the mix, always seeking inroads to the Austrian brass. I had a number of personal contacts and the rep felt I could help them out in the office in Frankfurt, Germany. He offered me a job there when I retired. As my retirement came close, I contacted them and got a great job offer with a good salary and all sorts of perks to live in Germany. The kicker was to spend 6 months in their Southern California office to become familiar with how they did things.

Right after my retirement, I packed up and, when a letter of employment in my hand, left Virginia to drive across country in my VW bus.

To shorten the story, I walked into the Northrop office and showed them my letter. Without batting an eye, the junior executive told me the letter and offer was no longer valid as the individual who gave it to me had been terminated, along with his entire staff, for ethics violations causing a huge scandal for the country.

I headed back to Vegas and have been here ever since.

 

[whitehall]

I had occasion to take a tour of the barn at Ft. Myer and talk with members of the burial detail at Arlington a couple of years ago. They are a fine bunch of enlisted Soldiers who make a tough job look easy.

 

[bullwinkle]

I had occasion to take a tour of the barn at Ft. Myer and talk with members of the burial detail at Arlington a couple of years ago. They are a fine bunch of enlisted Soldiers who make a tough job look easy.

An old movie, "Garden of Stone" is the story of that elite Arlington guard. James Caan leads.

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

The guys that guard the Tomb defy adequate description. Incredible.

 

[bullwinkle]

The guys that guard the Tomb defy adequate description. Incredible.

Absolutely! They even measure the distance between the back of the uniform collar and the hairline. When I see them, I stand up straighter. And choke up with pride.

 

[whitehall]

The interesting point is that there are no Unknown Soldiers thanks to DNA research but the tradition goes on.

 

[blastoff]

Isn’t there a whole bunch of things these guys commit to for the rest of their lives or something? Maybe it’s some other special group that slips my mind at the moment.

 

[longknife]

Isn’t there a whole bunch of things these guys commit to for the rest of their lives or something? Maybe it’s some other special group that slips my mind at the moment.

Once they've completed their tour with the Old Guard, they go on to other Infantry assignments. But they always wear the following badge on their dress uniforms:

As you can imagine, it goes a long way to help with promotions and special assignments. And they tend to be hell on wheels in combat.