Arlington:

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• Arlington
• Where Valor Never Sleeps

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Symbols of name of your state

• Many of our nations heroes covering all walks of
  life and most having fought battle on foreign
  soil are buried on this hallowed ground.
• American Revolutionary War
• Civil War
• World War I
• World War II
• Korea
• Vietnam
• Beirut and Grenada
• Persian Gulf War
• Iraqi Freedom
• Astronauts and Prominent Explorers
• Historical Figures
• Presidents
• Chief and Associate Justices of the U.S. Supreme
  Court

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• Executive Mansion Washington, November 21,
  1864
• To Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Mass.
• Dear Madam,
• I have been shown in the files of the War
  Department a statement of the Adjutant General
  of Massachusetts, that you are the mother of
  five sons who have died gloriously on the field
  of battle.
• I feel how weak and fruitless must be any
  words of mine which should attempt to beguile
  you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming.
  But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the
  consolation that may be found in the thanks of
  the Republic they died to save.
• I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage
  the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you
  only the cherished memory of the loved and lost,
  and the solemn pride that must be yours,  to
  have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar
  of Freedom.
• Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
• Abraham Lincoln

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Wreath-Laying

• The gift of flowers at a memorial site is a
  ritual that occurs around the world, understood
  by every culture. The floral tributes at funerals
  bespeak both the beauty and the brevity of life
  and evoke memories of other days. These offerings
  at Arlington occur daily and in solitary
  communion with a departed loved one who so
  bravely served their country, all in the name of
  freedom.

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Taps

• In the autumn of 1863, Brig. Gen. Daniel
  Butterfield requested a new tune to be sounded
  during the call of extinguish lights. This new
  tune caught on to buglers from nearby brigades.
  Other generals heard the melodious notes and in
  the autumn of 1863, the new tune was officially
  adopted.
• Today, whenever a man is buried with military
  honors anywhere in the United States, the
  ceremony is concluded by firing three volleys of
  musketry over the grave and concluding with the
  sound of Taps put out the lights go to sleep.
• There is something singularly beautiful and
  appropriate in the music of this call. It strains
  are melancholy, yet full of rest and peace. Its
  echoes linger in the heart long after its tones
  have ceased to vibrate in the air.

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Ruffles and Flourishes

• Ruffles are played on drums and flourishes are
  played on bugles.
• These are sounded together, once for each star of
  the general officer being honored
• Four ruffles and flourishes is the highest honor
  given

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21-Gun Salute
The tradition of saluting can be traced to the
Middle Ages practice of placing oneself in an
unarmed position and, therefore, in the power of
those being honored. In the Anglo-Saxon Empire,
seven guns was a recognized naval salute, seven
being the standard number of weapons on a vessel.
Because more gunpowder could be stored on a dry
land, forts could fire three more rounds for
every one fired from sea, hence the number
21. The 21-Gun salute was officially adopted
August 18, 1875.
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The Sentinels

• The Tomb of the Unknowns is guarded 24 hours
  a day, 365 days a year since 1930 and in ANY
  weather by Tomb Guard Sentinels. These Sentinels
  are all volunteers and are considered to be the
  best of the elite 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old
  Guard).

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What it Takes
Each Sentinel that volunteers must go through a
grueling trial phase. During this stage they must
memorize 7 pages of Arlington National Cemetery
history and the grave locations of nearly 300
veterans. This information must be recited
verbatim in order to earn a walk. A walk occurs
between guard changes.
Each soldier must be in superb physical
condition, possess an unblemished military record
and be between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet 4
inches tall, with an proportionate weight and
build. An interview and a 2-week trial is
required to determine a volunteers capability to
train as a Tomb Guard.
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The Badge

• Sentinels will be tested to earn the privilege
  of wearing the silver Tomb Guard Identification
  Badge after several months of serving. The test
  is 100 randomly selected questions of the 300
  items memorized during the training of the
  Arlington history. The would-be badge holder must
  get more than 95 correct to succeed.
• Only 500 Tomb Guard Badges have been
  awarded since it was created in February 1958.

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Each soldier is evaluated for motivation and
dedication, based upon their responses to
questions that center on personal and military
history, and expressed interest in, and reasons
for wanting to be Tomb Sentinels.
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Peace, Victory and Valor

• The Tomb Guard Identification Badge is a
  temporary award until the badge-holding sentinel
  has honorably served at the Tomb of the Unknowns
  for 9 months. After that time, the award can be
  made permanent, which can be worn the rest of a
  military career.
• The silver badge is an upside-down,
  laurel-leaf wreath surrounding a depiction of the
  front face of the Tomb. Peace, Victory and Valor
  are portrayed as Greek figures. The words Honor
  Guard are shown below the Tomb of the badge.

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• The Badge is one of the Armys highest honors
  and can be taken away from the soldier if he or
  she does not continue to maintain the highest
  standards.

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• The Tomb Guard marches 21 steps down the
  black mat behind the Tomb, turns, faces east for
  21 seconds, turns and faces north for 21 seconds,
  then takes 21 steps down the mat and repeats the
  process. After the turn, the sentinel executes a
  sharp shoulder-arms movement to place the
  weapon on the shoulder closest to the visitors to
  signify that the sentinel stands between the Tomb
  and any possible threat.
• Twenty-one was chosen because it symbolizes
  the highest military honor that can be bestowed
  the 21-gun salute.

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• The Guards of Honor at the Tomb of the Unknowns
  are highly motivated and are proud to honor all
  American service members who are known but to
  God.
• Sentinels learn to keep their uniforms and
  weapons in immaculate condition and train on
  their days off.
• Guards spend five hours a day preparing their
  royal blue woolen uniforms with gold stripes for
  duty, sometimes in
• 100-degree heat and sometimes snow and ice.

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Flags-In

• Each year for the past 40 years, The Old Guard
  has honored Americas fallen heroes by placing
  American flags before the gravestones and niches
  of service members buried at both Arlington
  National Cemetery and the U.S. Soldiers and
  Airmens Home National Cemetery just prior to
  Memorial Day weekend.
• The tradition known as flags-in has been
  conducted since 1948.
• Sentinels place flags in front of more than
  273,500 gravestones and 7,300 columbarium niches.
  
• Old Guard soldiers remain in the cemetery
  throughout the weekend to ensure a flag remains
  at each and every gravestone.

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A Soldiers Story
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• The most challenging part was standing out there
  in summer or winter and enduring the heat or cold
  for hours, while maintaining a perfect posture.
  If you took 8 to 12 shifts a day, which occurred
  frequently in the summer, your back, knees and
  ankles would go numb and you would find it
  difficult to know your body position

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• He said it was tough emotionally to see
  visitors, who obviously had lost loved ones,
  break down and cry. I was up there many days when
  aging Vietnam veterans would stand there for a
  while and then wait until most of the crowd had
  left and say ..thank you

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• There is no greater satisfaction said one Honor
  Guard. Youre here for a purpose to preserve what
  has been here for years. You feel nervous, but
  its not fear. Its the excitement, the full
  glory of being here

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• When Hurricane Isabelle approached Washington
  in 2003, military members assigned to the Old
  Guard were given permission to suspend the
  assignment.
• No way, Sir, responded the guard detail.
  Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain
  of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the
  Tomb is not just an assignment, but the highest
  honor that can be afforded a solider.

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• WE have the Honor

• the Tradition

The Dedication

• the Patriotism

• the Integrity

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• Our country stands for PRIDE, FREEDOM and
  SACRIFICE which is the same approach to duty that
  our men and women of this country have shown
  since 1776!

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• Arlington where Valor never sleeps

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• Footnote, August 2007
• The title of the 2007-2008 Apex High School
  Marching Band Show changed from Arlington
  where valor never sleeps
• to
• Arlington where valor proudly sleeps.
• With the change of one word, the emphasis
  switched from the work of the tomb guards, to the
  valor of the fallen in service to their country.