At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Val and I were in Washington, D.C. for a week. Val attended a training course in the city and I was on vacation mode, fresh from boot camp. Some of the places I visited were about U.S. military history.

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One of the must-sees Val had recommended to me was a visit to Arlington National Cemetery to watch the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I wanted to spend half the day in the cemetery and then visit other places in the afternoon. However, what I didn't realise was that the walk to the cemetery from the Metro station was long; by the time I got to the cemetery's welcome centre, my feet were complaining already! I didn't want to do much more walking so I opted to go on the bus tour (that took tourists to different spots within the cemetery).  Aside from giving my feet some much needed rest, I was glad to have taken the tour because the tour guides provided explanations and context to what we were seeing along the road.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was behind the Memorial Amphitheatre. It's this marble building filled with seats. I imagine that this place gets busy with services on important military days (e.g., Memorial Day).

On the day I visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, I was surprised to see the flags of the different arms of the US military. Was this the Changing of the Guard already? Apparently not. Instead, I (along with the rest of the visitors) were about to witness the wreath-laying ceremony led by Brazil's current Minister of Defence, Gen. Fernando Azevedo de Silva.

Aside from the flag-bearers, there was a band as well. It played music just before the wreath was laid at the tomb.

There were troops in the ceremony too. I thought that they would stay after the wreath-laying ceremony to witness the Changing of the Guard; however, they very quietly marched away as soon as the ceremony with the Minister of Defence finished. This left us, a mostly civilian crowd, in the audience.



The performance of "Taps", one of the saddest musical pieces I've heard, marked the end of the wreath-laying ceremony. What a sombre way to end a program! It reminded me that I was not just in a tourist area; I was in an active cemetery where 25–30 soldiers are buried everyday.

Once the troops left, I was able to focus on the actual sarcophagus and graves. I learned that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier originally had four buried soldiers, one each from World War I, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War. However, the Vietnam War Unknown was eventually identified through DNA testing; therefore, his remains were returned to his family. The Vietnam War Unknown tomb is currently empty.

The wreath was all that was left as evidence that the ceremony actually took place. After a final salute, the wreath was moved to the opposite side of the sarcophagus.

I was happy that I had my Canon point-and-shoot with me because I was able to zoom in on the wreath to see it up close.

The relief commander reminded us that Changing of the Guard is treated by the military as a sacred ceremony and everyone should stand and keep silent.

Then the ceremony started. The Guard who's about to be relieved did a final walk across the worn carpet. The Guard walked 21 steps from one side to another and paused for 21 seconds as the Guard looked to the north, alluding to the 21-gun salute (the highest military honour, reserved typically for heads of state and reigning monarchs). Each time he walked, he made sure that the rifle was on the side of his body closest to the audience; apparently, this is a symbolic way of keeping people from defacing the tomb.

In the meantime, the relief commander was conducting an inspection of the rifle carried by the next Guard. I was far away from this activity so I couldn't hear if there was a conversation happening between the two honour guards.

Once the inspection was finished, the relief commander walked with the next Guard to the middle of the sarcophagus, met the current Guard, and then escorted the current Guard to their quarters in the amphitheatre. Aside from the audible passing of orders, the only sound made by the whole ceremony was the clicking of the Guards' shoes as they turned. The next Guard then took over watching over the Tomb.

It was a fascinating ceremony to watch. I've seen the Rizal Monument guarded continuously too; however, it didn't have the pomp and pageantry that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has nor the large audience. It certainly is a good way to get people aware of the sacrifices that the military take to protect US citizens, residents, and interests.