Despite Sandy, soldiers guard Tomb of Unknown Soldier

Spc. Brett Hyde, Tomb Sentinel, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), maintains his vigil during Hurricane Sandy while guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., Oct., 29, 2012. In 1948 the Old Guard assumed the post following the unit's reactivation in the nation's capital.

/ U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Jose A. Torres Jr.

As conditions relating to Hurricane Sandy worsen along the East Coast, Soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Regiment will continue to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Virginia's Arlington National Cemetery throughout - although they won't be exposed to the elements during the worst of the storm.

The tomb, which was erected following World War I and honors the memory of unidentified soldiers killed in any war, has been guarded continuously by members of the 3rd Infantry's Honor Guard since 1948.

Earlier today, a photo circulated on Twitter and Facebook showing three soldiers standing guard in front of the tomb amid a torrential downpour. That photo, as it turned out, was not from today. But the above photo depicts Spc. Brett Hyde, Tomb Sentinel, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment, keeping guard over the Tomb earlier today during Hurricane Sandy at Arlington National Cemetery.

According to the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, soldiers aren't necessarily guarding the tomb in the open air after the cemetery closes for extreme weather, which it has done due to Sandy. Instead, they wear camouflage and keep guard from a protected area.

[cmf1027]

TO The UN-reasonable_US_Citizen,
Your lack of respect for the tradition these soldiers honor each and every day suggests to me that you have no reason or clue as to what being a citizen means in this country. Many men and woman have given their lives so that you can have the opportunity to have healthcare at the expense of other taxpayers, a soldier willing to respect the sacrifice of life in inclement weather means more to me than your obvious lack of service to this country and you pathetic loss of dollars. If you ever had a backbone and made a sacrifice like the soldier in the tomb being represented, you may have shown some respect. If this isn't worthy to you, please relocate to a country that wouldn't allow you to express your worthless view. A citizen who appreciates the sacrifice the tomb represents, and the guards who pay its due respect.

[Aetheluric]

To the one who hides behind so called Reasonable U.S.Citizen,
Spoken like one who has no appreciation for the gifts they have been given.
I applaud you sir, for you stand as a model example to precisely what is wrong with our country today.
Too many so called citizens like your self are so enamored with what you think the world owes you, you seem to forget it all comes at some cost and some sacrifice.
The federal government was never created to provide the majority of the items that folks like you have come to believe you are somehow entitled too; and it shows.
50 Years ago the Defense portion of the US budget was a major portion of the total.
Today on the other hand - the Defense Department represents less than 20% of the yearly budget.
It was long ago outpaced but the portion attributed to "entitlements" - and the vast majority of those being paid out to individuals who have done nothing to warrant such payment; contributed nothing but debt and burden to the system - and unwilling to lift a finger to help themselves. Choosing instead, to cry "woe is me and help me because I cannot help myself" - and wondering why the business sector chooses to outsource any jobs it can to other countries; instead of giving you a job paying premium wages to sit back and do nothing but complain about the abuses you suffer at the hands of your employer.
I respect your right to express the view point you are espousing; and I freely chose to give a good portion of my life in military service to defend your right to freely express yourself and your opinion.
Just as every generation of my family before me; since my father's father emigrated to this country in hopes of finding an opportunity to earn a living for himself.
He had no medical insurance then, no food stamps; no other government supplements - in fact he was almost turned away because of the state of his sons health; a son how also gave a portion of his life serving in a world war, being shot out of the sky and enduring as a member of the French underground while avoiding capture by the Nazi German Army.
Somehow I do not see one such as you as being capable of such sacrifices and beyond any sort of understanding of what it actually means to be a citizen in the first place - and I hope you continue in your ignorance right up until the day there is no money left to pay for the limitless support you and those like you seem to truly believe is your birth right. At which point the nation will be in revolt, and those like you will be forced to somehow defend your own life without any support and become just more fodder to grease the political wheels of whatever flavor of bleeding heart liberalism is the current one for the age. Eventually those like you will be buried beneath the dirt trod under the boots of those leading that party and forgotten; assuming for a moment that side wins. But you could save yourself right now, and move to nations such as communist China or socialist Russia and experience just what citizen ship for the common people truly means and get all you are entitled to there - places where no one remembers who did what save the highest in the political parties of their nations; like Stalin, Chairman Mao; Benito Mussolini.

Be well! May you live long and prosper in proportion to that which you contribute to the well being of your fellow man.

[808425206685]

THEFORGOTTENARESTILLALIVE

As a fellow veteran. My hat and my honor goes out to you as I experienced the same after being Honorably discharged. Like you Several Degrees later including a PhD and still it was hard to find work, probably because no one wanted to hire someone who had the potential to exhibit signs of PTSD. I persevered and came through in the end.

I salute you and hope something comes to you in your favor. If I were in a position to hire anyone I would look to a veteran like you as I appreciate your perspective on things.

[808425206685]

JAYLAH54200; OBAMA4ALL IS IT A RIGHT???? Just because the Gov say its a right is it? If it was a right and we could all say what we wanted then we could do with it without the fear of repercussion of being charged with slander and so on. It may be called the BILL OF RIGHTS, however it is we veterans that give all of society the (RIGHT AS YOU SAY) to make such insulting comments, and say what we will.

Plain and simple GIFT or RIGHT. It was an insulting comment and the fact that it was made shows just how little is known of the TOMB by the general public, and to say "I DONT MEAN TO BE DISRESPECTFUL" well if anyone on here did not MEAN to be "DISRESPECTFUL" then maybe the comments should have been kept to ones self.

I may have been very harsh on the comments made to Amulette about being an idiot and for that I apologize to that person as my comment was disrespectful as well.

But LET IT BE KNOWN... ALL THE COMMENTS MADE ON THIS BLOG whether insulting or praising, whether it be viewed as a GIFT or RIGHT.. It comes to ONE and ONLY ONE SIMPLE COMMON DENOMINATOR...... WE VETERANS GIFTED THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH. WE FOUGHT AND CONTINUE TO FIGHT SO WE THE PEOPLE CAN HAVE A VOICE. RIGHT, WRONG OR INDIFFERENT!!!!

REMEMBER THAT!!!!

[Enough2011]

So many ignorant comments, so little time to be ignorant. To those who claim to be veterans, God is shaking his head at your comments. No God I know would give you love nor mercy. He just shakes his head and walks away.

[Johan_Marshall]

i agree with @Scimajor@
www.usatermpapers.com

[Johan_Marshall]

Observe how UN-zombie similar to they are. And come again? a shock, a open-minded judgment one more way to protest that they don't contain free physical condition care.

[MoAnimus]

Would love to see a photo of Prezzy in his Brock a Brella running the Hurricane Sandra command center while he's dialed into Weather Channel....
As for Secy of Business, he should re-title it Monkey Business...something he can relate to...know what I mean comrades?

[TwentynineStumps]

Until he is not the President and while he IS the CIC you should extend the respect that the position calls for. We are taught to respect that position in office and in the Chain of Command. He may be an empty suit to you, me, and many others, but for now he is PODUS duly elected by this nation for which we veterans are sworn to protect. I encourage you to do the same sir.

[ugacrew]

Completely void of substance as well as thought.

[reasonable_us_citizen]

It's all well and good to pat ourselves on the back and high-five over how great and honorable the military personnel are but these guys guarding the bones are ridiculous. They get paid with our tax dollars to march around some unknown guy's bones and stand in the rain? They look ridiculous and the "job" they're doing is irrefutably a waste of time and money. In what other facet of life does marching around in the rain "guarding" a box of marble like a zombie equate to value of any kind? Talk about government waste. I'd be willing to stake my life on the fact that 80 percent of the commenters here who are gung-ho for this little dog and pony act are against even entertaining the idea of universal healthcare for their fellow citizens. But they know what "honor" is. Pathetic.

[Thatguy007]

You are pathetic. There are no more than three sentinels guarding the monument at one time. Not nearly enough money to pay for your "Universal Healthcare." Regardless of what they get paid. There are a lot of things that are government waste, and this isn't one guys bones, it's a symbol of the soldiers who died and their remains were never found and names never known. It's not just about honor it's about remembering the fallen soldiers that fought for your right to leave that comment. Soldiers don't leave fallen comrades behind. No matter what. This is how they uphold that code.

[Ithinkyouareatroll]

I'd be willing to stake my life on the fact that you are a troll. But none-the-less, I'll respond.

I'm not sure what you mean by "pat OURSELVES on the back," since clearly you don't support this. My guess is that if you had someone close to you that was MIA/POW/KIA, you would not so disrespectful as to refer to their possible remains as "the bones." As for marching like a zombie...go to the tomb and try to cross their rope, see how un-zombie like they are. And what a surprise, a liberal finding another way to complain that they don't have free health care. Your democratic president gave you Obama-Care...what more could you ask for?

Impressive how you can scoff at someone's idea of honor as you sit behind the safety of a screen name and bash them for it. I also like how it's "OUR" tax dollars that "THEY" get paid with. Guess what, they pay taxes too...so it's THEIR tax dollars that they're getting paid with as well.

I have a great idea, and I'm guessing I'm not the first to suggest this...you should move to another country, one that has free healthcare. Than you would surely be much happier...I know I would be.

[Scimajor]

This is going to be an unpopular point of view but I find it utterly foolhardy to recklessly risk lives to guard a tomb.

[ugacrew]

Understand the symbolism. They are showing perpetual care for all of the fallen soldiers and sending a powerful message to those yet serving, that we will never leave you, or abandon you, and will forever remain a grateful nation for what has been and what may eventually be your ultimate sacrifice.

These soldiers are smart enough to know when to take cover, while simultaneously reflecting the above message to the entire world.