July 5, 2006

For the Fourth of July, we went to Arlington National Cemetary and then watched the fireworks. About 2 minutes after this photo was taken, it turned into a torrential downpour. (Photo to prove it following...) Tree branches were crashing down, and we have never been that close to lightning, which was frightening. It was especially scary for the kids, in Oregon, you very rarely get lightning/thunderstorms. We got soaked, and the kids cried and wanted to go home. After running down a hill in the pouring rain, with no umbrella, with branches falling all around us, we found a covered area. We waited about 20 minutes for the rain to stop, which it did. We then started our 20 minute walk up a huge hill to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.

We started walking to the top of the hill while it was still sprinkling, and then it stopped and Jake said, Mom, now we can read all of them(headstones). I told him we didn't have time to read them all, but the rest of the way up, I would read the names to the boys of the ones I saw. The changing of the guard was awesome. It was especially cool because of an email I had gotten a few days previous. It had facts of Arlington Cemetary. Here are some of the facts:

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. 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.

4. How often are the guards changed?
Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

5. 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." Other requirements of the Guard: 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 {fighting} 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 E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame. Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.

6. 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.

Needless to say, it was pretty awesome! I know my kids probably won't remember, but I hope they do! Even during the rainstorm, Kyle kept saying that he wanted to see the tomb. We also went and saw the "eternal flame" of President Kennedy's resting place. Of course, the kids thought fire coming out of the ground was awesome! After the excitement of Arlington Cemetary, we made our way to the banks of the Potomac to watch the fireworks. The kids were starving, and instead of packing food, we thought we would just buy some, but there turned out not to be any vendors where we were. Kyle and Troy went through security and hiked across the bridge to the Lincoln Monument where there were tons of food vendors. They made it back just in time for fireworks. They were definately the highlight! Jake kept saying, so cool! Kristin just liked the pink ones! Troy and I both thought the fireworks that burst into star shapes were the best, I don't know that I had seen any of those before! It wasn't bad trying to get home at all! We had about a 15 minute drive from the Metro station, the fireworks got over at 9:30, and we were all home and in bed by 11:00. It was definately worth it!