The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a monument for all the unidentified soldiers who have fallen in war. The idea for it started during World War 1. Reverend David Railton was in France and saw a grave marked with a simple cross that said, “An Unknown British Soldier.”
The reverend suggested that the British create a symbol at a national level to honor such soldiers. Today, we have a monument in every major country that participated in the war. In the United Kingdom, they have the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. In the United States, we have the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. These tombs are sacred places dedicated to honoring unknown man and women who served their countries.
Visiting the monument
People that visit the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier arrive full of respect, with some of them there to mourn. However, every now and then a visitor, or group of visitors, breaks this code of conduct and propels the guards to act. Although it happens often enough, it isn’t everyday people get it on tape.
Respect for the fallen soldiers
In a recent video, a group of people could be heard giggling and talking at the monument. A guard chose to act and broke from his march to address the crowd. The real surprise was the guard’s sudden and clear reaction to the disrespect for the monument. While standing still and tall he loudly declared, “It is requested that everyone maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times!” Complete silence could be heard after. The guard’s voice and timing were as perfect and precise as you would expect them to be. The result was instant silence.
The footage of the latest event was published online and it quickly went viral.
Tomb guards rarely break form, but in this case he did. Once the guard finished giving them a lesson, he quickly went back to his marching near the monument.
Discussion
Every man and woman deserves a decent amount of respect, but a soldier even more. Maybe the group of people was not giggling at a soldier or the monument and it was at something else, but the fact they did laugh showed disrespect to the place they were standing in and the guard felt it was his duty to correct their error.
People watching the video discussed the reasons for what had led the tomb guard to be forced to break from his marching to speak. Some thought that lack of education about what the monument is there for might be to blame.
Partly due to that lack of knowledge about our shared history, Time to Kill Productions released a documentary. The movie is called “The Unknown.” It aims to educate younger generations about the sacrifices that were made by the fallen soldiers in previous wars.
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As for the present, the soldiers that guard the monument are there 24 hours a day, every day of the year, regardless of the weather. The guards and their unending march in front of the monument preserve the memory of the fallen and remind us that just because the unknown soldiers remain unnamed does not mean that they will ever be forgotten.
