Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum here. The third U. S. Infantry Division is
Speaker 1: the oldest active duty infantry regiment in the nation. It's
Speaker 1: the army's official ceremonial unit and the escort to the President,
Speaker 1: known as the Old Guard. Select Third Infantry soldiers are
Speaker 1: also assigned to a platoon with a duty unlike any
Speaker 1: other in the armed Forces, guarding the Tomb of the
Speaker 1: Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Each year, more than
Speaker 1: three million tourists stream into Arlington National which sits just
Speaker 1: west of Washington, d C. To visit the Tomb of
Speaker 1: the Unknowns. Their sentinels of the third U. S. Infantry
Speaker 1: have stood guard every minute of every day since July second,
Speaker 1: ninety seven. They've stood through snowfalls and hurricanes. They were
Speaker 1: witnesses terrorists flew a plane into the nearby Pentagon on
Speaker 1: September eleventh, two thousand one. We spoke via email with
Speaker 1: Major Stephen C. Von Jett, the director of Public Affairs
Speaker 1: for the regiment. He said, the vigil remains unbroken to
Speaker 1: honor the sacrifice of the Unknowns because they gave their
Speaker 1: very identities for our nation. The Tomb of the Unknown
Speaker 1: Soldier as it is today, contains the remains of more
Speaker 1: than one soldier. Once it honored a soldier who was
Speaker 1: later identified. The idea of a tomb for unknowns began
Speaker 1: in nine one. The original idea was to honor an
Speaker 1: unidentified soldier killed in World War One. The Army exhumed
Speaker 1: four soldiers from American cemeteries in France on Memorial Day
Speaker 1: of that year and shows one for the spot in
Speaker 1: Arlington in an elaborate ceremony. After the casket was transported
Speaker 1: to the US by the Navy cruiser U. S. S. Olympia,
Speaker 1: President Warren G. Harding presided over the internment ceremonies. On
Speaker 1: November twenty one, a white marble sarcophagus was placed over
Speaker 1: the grave with this inscription. On the west side, here
Speaker 1: rests an honored glory, an American soldier known but to
Speaker 1: God over the years. To the west of the original tomb,
Speaker 1: three other graves were erected, marked with white marble slabs
Speaker 1: that are flushed to the ground. These honor the unknown
Speaker 1: dead of World War Two, Korea and Vietnam. The soldiers
Speaker 1: in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier are among more
Speaker 1: than five thousand unidentified soldiers buried throughout Arlington National Cemetery.
Speaker 1: Von Jett says of the other unknowns at Arlington, generally
Speaker 1: their gravestones read unknown and then what service the unknown
Speaker 1: served with if known. If known, there will be a
Speaker 1: date of demise. We recently placed a flag on every
Speaker 1: grave side for Memorial Day. During flags in I've seen
Speaker 1: hundreds of unknown markers myself. Some are just right next
Speaker 1: to the tomb plaza. The ceremonial unknowns of World War
Speaker 1: Two and Korea were interred at the Tomb of the
Speaker 1: Unknown Soldier in nineteen fifty eight, and the Vietnam War
Speaker 1: unknown was ceremoniously interred on Memorial Day in nine four
Speaker 1: In after investigations pointed to the identity of the Vietnam Unknown,
Speaker 1: the remains were exhumed and later positively identified through DNA
Speaker 1: testing as those of First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassi of St. Louis, Missouri,
Speaker 1: a pilot shut down over Vietnam in nineteen seventy two.
Speaker 1: Blassies remains were returned to his family. He was reinterred
Speaker 1: at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on the banks of the
Speaker 1: Mississippi in St. Louis County, Missouri. The Army made the
Speaker 1: decision to leave the Vietnam crypt empty. The cover has
Speaker 1: been replaced with one with this inscription, honoring and keeping
Speaker 1: faith with America's Missing Servicemant eight to nineteen seventy five.
Speaker 1: According to von Jette, no plans exist for any further
Speaker 1: disinterments of unknowns from any previous wars. These days, a
Speaker 1: DNA sample is now taken from every service member upon
Speaker 1: joining the armed forces, which helps identify fallen soldiers. A
Speaker 1: former Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, told reporters after Blassie
Speaker 1: was returned home, it may be that forensic science has
Speaker 1: reached the point where there will be no other unknowns
Speaker 1: in any war. Von Jette said the U. S. Army
Speaker 1: has made great strides when it comes to service member identification.
Speaker 1: While some incidents might make initial identification of remains challenging,
Speaker 1: there are no unknowns from current or recent conflict. Standing
Speaker 1: vigil over the unknowns are the Tomb Guard Sentinels of
Speaker 1: the Old Guard, a handpicked group of Army soldiers who
Speaker 1: are arduously trained and fiercely dedicated to honoring the memory
Speaker 1: of those who gave their lives for their country. Whether
Speaker 1: it's in the dead of summer in front of thousands
Speaker 1: of sweaty tourists or at midnight in the dark of winter,
Speaker 1: the sentinels carry out their duty with remarkable precision. On
Speaker 1: every hour in the winter while Arlington is open, and
Speaker 1: on every half hour in the summer, the soldiers moved
Speaker 1: through an intricately choreographed ceremony that includes a rifle inspection
Speaker 1: and the literal changing of the guard. Oh. Once the
Speaker 1: ceremony is complete, the sentinel, who has come on in relief,
Speaker 1: begins the slow and steady walk down a mat beside
Speaker 1: the tomb, rifle on shoulder until the next change. After
Speaker 1: hours of arlington, a sentinel sometimes walks a longer shift,
Speaker 1: but a soldier is always on guard at the tomb.
Speaker 1: The guards walk consists of twenty one slow steps. These
Speaker 1: refer to the twenty one gun salute, the highest honor
Speaker 1: given any military or foreign dignitary. Then a sharp military turn,
Speaker 1: a heel click, a twenty one second pause while facing
Speaker 1: the tomb, then another turn and another twenty one second
Speaker 1: stop before beginning the twenty one steps to the other
Speaker 1: end of the mat. Soldiers rifle has switched to the
Speaker 1: shoulder farthest from the tomb, between the tomb and any threat.
Speaker 1: Noon is often thought to be the most prestigious time
Speaker 1: for the changing of the guard because of the big crowds,
Speaker 1: especially in the summer, but von Jette says that prestige
Speaker 1: it doesn't come into Playford sentinels quote. All of our guards,
Speaker 1: and this is going back years, will tell you that
Speaker 1: knights on the plaza are special. Just about everyone says
Speaker 1: night duty is their favorite. It's the opportunity for the
Speaker 1: guard to be alone with the unknowns, to think about
Speaker 1: their sacrifice and what guarding the unknowns means to them.
Speaker 1: The Honor Guard has three groups or reliefs, which each
Speaker 1: include a relief commander who addresses onlookers and announces the
Speaker 1: changing of the guard, and about six sentinels. They currently
Speaker 1: do a twenty six hours on twenty two hours off
Speaker 1: schedule for six days before they take a ninety six
Speaker 1: hour administrative block before starting again. They train every day
Speaker 1: even when they're off. When they're on not on the plaza,
Speaker 1: they're performing many daily rituals in preparation for their walk,
Speaker 1: including pressing and steaming their uniforms. Buffing their medals and decorations,
Speaker 1: and practicing their rifle movements. And that's every day, twenty
Speaker 1: four hours a day since nine seven, whether anyone's watching
Speaker 1: or not. Von Jett said, I've been on the plaza
Speaker 1: when no one was there but me and the guard.
Speaker 1: I've been there with thousands packed shoulder to shoulder. Both
Speaker 1: are special and I recommend both experiences. Today's episode for
Speaker 1: written by John Donovan and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain
Speaker 1: Stuff is production of iHeart Radio's How Stuff Works. For
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