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." Other
requirements of the Guard: 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 {fighting} 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
E. Lewis {the boxer}
and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most
decorated soldier of WWII}
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 serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled
continuously,
24/7, since 1930.
Please forward to your list. I would 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.
God Bless and keep
them.
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