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Tomb Of The Unknown Solider Essay

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The Tomb of the Unknown Solider is located Arlington National Cemetery which stands atop of a hill overlooking Washington, DC. The Tomb symbolizes all those who were lost or rendered unidentifiable by the action of war. It is there to represent all the missing and unknown service member who made the ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives, but also their identities to protect our country’s freedoms. On March 4, 1921 Congress approved for the burial of an unidentified American solider from World War I to be placed in the Plaza of the newly built Memorial Amphitheater. Inscribed on the back of the Tomb are “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.” (Arlington National Cemetery) The Tomb sarcophagus was place above the grave of the Unknown Solider …show more content…

The Sentinel guards watch over the Tomb 24/7 in any and all weather and when the cemetery is open or closed. I was able to talk to a former guard of the Tomb about his experiences. One of the first question that I asked was “How did you feel about your experience of being a guard and what was it like?” He told me that it was a great honor for him to be a guard. To him it is one of the greatest honor in the military that he had received. He explain the system of how the guards change out. It works on a three team rotation with 24 hours on, 24 hours on, 24 hours on, 24 hours off, 24 hours on, 96 hours off. During his off time he was expected to complete training and he said it could take him up to eight hours to prep his uniform for his next guard shift. As a guard you are expected to stand out there in any type of weather. It doesn’t matter if it is 90 degrees or if it is snowing. As a guard you are expected to stand out there on your shift and guard the Tomb. As a guard you take pride in what you are doing. When you are out there he could honor and remember these men in place of their families who never knew what exactly happen to

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