Dear Mr. Robinson,
I read with interest and understanding your posting of “TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER (Interesting Facts).
But I found inconsistencies.
One is: Q: How often are the guards changed?
A: Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.
Yet farther down the site someone has written:
They are relieved every hour in a very formal drill that has to be seen to be believed.
Farther on it is written:
They cannot swear in public FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES...
Farther still it is written:
One fellow said “I’ve got buddies getting shot at in Iraq who would kick my butt if word got to them that we let them down. I sure as hell have no intention of spending my Army career being known as the damned idiot who couldn’t stand a little light breeze and shirked his duty.”
I believe the above statement contains swear words.
Please correct me if I’m wrong and do not misconstrue my intent. During World War II I had 9 uncles in service - 4 uncles and 5 uncles-in-law. Three did not come back. One was in the 29th Infantry Division at Omaha. One was on Iwo Jima and one flew of the USS Yorktown in 1943-1944.
Finally, researching a book I was writing I spent a week at the National Archives. I found the time to go to Arlington National Cemetery and and watched the Guards and was deeply impressed.