The Jeopardy Question No
One Could Answer
On Jeopardy the other
night, the final question was "How many steps does the guard take during
his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns"---- All three missed it
--
This is
really an awesome sight to watch if you've never had the
chance. Very
fascinating.
Tomb of
the Unknown Soldier
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.
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 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 Lewis {the
boxer}
Medal of Honor winner
Audie L. Murphy, the most
decorated soldier of WWII and of Hollywood
fame.
Every guard spends five
hours a day getting his uniforms ready for
guard
duty.
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
service person.
The tomb has been
patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.
I don't
usually suggest that many emails be forwarded, but I'd
be�
very
proud if this one reached as many as
possible.