Memorial Day Morning at The Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers

This morning I went to the Tombs of The Unknown Soldiers. But I couldn’t have gotten there earlier than the soldiers of 3rd Infantry Regiment. One MP told me he’d been out there since 0400. No where is it more evident of how much our world has changed in the last decade since I started going to the wreath ceremonies at the Tombs on Veterans’ Day and Memorial Day.

When I first started going while President Clinton was in the White House, we didn’t have to go through metal detectors, and we just walked up to the Memorial and there were never more than a couple hundred people in attendance. Today, we had to bussed up to the memorial to control the crowds and we were all passed through metal detectors and our bags were hand searched. And there were a couple of thousand people to watch the event.

I got there at about 0800 just as the Cemetery opened and there were already about a thousand people there ahead of me. It took about 45 minutes to get through all of the security and find a decent spot to wait. While we waited, the guards changed a few times so I videoed it for those of you who might never have seen it.

I saw Bob Dole talking to Ike Skelton;

The troops started forming up on the memorial;

And the band reported;

Then it was time for President Bush. I videoed most of the event because it was easier than trying to shoot photos around the heads of the dignitaries and the jerk who stood right in front of me;

After the ceremony, I only got this picture of the President and his escort;

I stuck around and watched the troops retire the colors;

I love drill and ceremony as long as I don’t have to march in it. The single advantage of being a short private in the Ranger Battalion.

I did get to shake hands with Sergeant Major of the Army Ken Preston and thank him for helping to build such a wonderful Army (I’m sure my compliment will end up being a bullet in his NCOER). He looked too young to be Sergeant Major of the Army, though. or maybe I’m getting old.

As I was leaving, I just happened to glance up from the road and saw SFC Paul Ray Smith‘s marker (actually, it was kind of eerie), so I stopped and paid my respects;

And this reminded me of COB6’s post Promises Worth Keeping;

So that’s how I spent my Memorial Day. I’d planned on going to the Vietnam Memorial ceremony, but I got held up for security reasons, so I missed it. But these guys and gals worked hard for this ceremony and all you get to see of it is five seconds of the President setting the wreath down on the nightly news.

Last Veterans’ Day when I put the video of the ceremony up, I got an email to my YouTube account from the sergeant who handed the wreath to the President. He wrote to thank me because he finally had something to show his family about his work at Fort Myers. So this post is for those troops who practiced for the event for countless hours and then stood out in the searing heat this morning. They have my eternal thanks for this and everything else they do for us. These are the faces of the folks who stand in the breach.

Stop by last years post to see who I think about on Memorial Day.

Category: Support the troops