Every so often, I see this Facebook post about how on last night’s episode of Jeopardy!, there was a question about the Tomb of the Unknowns, and that none of the contestants got the answer correct. The post then follows with a litany of trivia and history of the Tomb Guard soldiers and their work to protect those three unknown men who are encrypted at Arlington National Cemetery.
The post has some inaccuracies, but a more accurate depiction of what an Army soldier endures as a Tomb Sentinel can be seen in this documentary.
And if you do visit the Tomb of the Unknowns, you must understand that this is a solemn and reverent place. You don’t chat on your cell phone during a visit. You don’t make fun of the tomb guards. You don’t get in their way. You don’t do anything stupid.
The guards will back off any threat to the entombed remains with loud shouts and raised weapons. In other words … DO NOT FUCK WITH AN ARMY TOMB GUARD, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.
Which makes yesterday’s incident at the Tomb of the Unknowns rather upsetting.
Because during the Veterans Day ceremonies, when a wreath is placed at the Tomb, some patrons decided to laugh loudly and pose for selfies. A rather vulgar display of disrespect. And the Tomb Guard on duty at the time did what Tomb Guards are supposed to do. He berated the disrespectful visitors.
Oh, by the way, did I happen to mention that one of the visitors was Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth? Yeah, him.
See for yourself.
Yeah. Our Secretary of Defense showed total disrespect for soldiers on Veterans Day. Deplorable. Unacceptable.
And before anybody gives me blowback on this, let me remind you that I am speaking as a father of an Army National Guard member. I am speaking as someone whose family served in military duty for generations. I might not have served myself, but I understand the importance of national defense.
And Pete Hegseth – the Secretary of Defense – should have known better. He’s representing all the troops. And to act like some frat bro at the Tomb of the Unknowns with the same irreverence as one would expect at a roadside tourist attraction – that just goes beyond the pale.
Pete Hegseth should immediately issue an apology for his actions. I know he won’t, because this administration would rather double down on their actions rather than apologize for them. But he still disrespected someone’s family member at that ceremony. He disrespected all of our family members at that ceremony.
Shame on him. Ugh.
But they didn’t impeach him.
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Uh oh, Chuck. Looks like that dreaded ‘hyperbole virus’ has invaded your computer again.
But kudos to the guard, for a job well done … and to the CNN drama queen, for an outstanding performance.
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