How did you celebrate Memorial Day?

and...did you know what it takes to be a guard

at Arlington Cemetery?

"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.

Guards are changed every thirty minutes,

twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

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."

Hmm...wait, there's more...

"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."

Well, we celebrated with red velvet cake!!!

some shots from the garden...