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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (704187)	9/27/2005 10:57:52 AM
From: paret	Respond to of 769670

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.

To: Bill who wrote (704187)	9/27/2005 11:02:01 AM
From: paret	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier …………………………………………………………............................................. 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. Why are his gloves wet? His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle. 4. 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. 5. How often are the guards changed? Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. 6. 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 Louis and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of WWII. Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.

To: Bill who wrote (704187)	9/27/2005 4:51:04 PM
From: paret	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Plane passengers salute fallen war hero Boston Globe ^ \| 09/27/2005 \| Adrienne P. Samuels When Delta Flight 1880 landed late Saturday at Logan International Airport in Boston, the pilot went on the intercom to make a request of the passengers preparing to grab their carry-on bags: Sit for a moment and honor a fallen soldier. "The pilot said, 'We have a hero on this flight and sadly, he isn't with us, but his mother is escorting his remains,' " said Barbara Bell, sister of Sgt. Pierre A. Raymond, 28, an Army reservist from Lawrence, Mass., who died Tuesday in Germany after being wounded in Iraq. The normal bustle of an emptying airplane immediately ceased, she said. "He went on to say that 'a sergeant from the Army is escorting them as well,' and then (the pilot) thanked him for doing what he did and for keeping us safe and free." As Raymond's mother, Santina, got up to walk off the plane, her fellow passengers gave her a standing ovation. "I was thankful that he was remembered like he was angel," said Santina Raymond, who spent Sunday at her Lawrence home preparing for her son's funeral on Wednesday. "He was a hero, so everybody cheered. It was wonderful. He was wonderful." Pierre Raymond died from injuries sustained after a Sept. 15 attack near Ramadi, Iraq, where he was hit in the chest and neck with flying shrapnel while in his sleeping quarters. Immediately after he was wounded, Raymond was talking and even flirting with the nurses who treated him, said Bell, who lives in Palo Alto, Calif. But military doctors in Iraq couldn't stop the bleeding and sent Raymond to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for emergency treatment, where he was kept alive until his family arrived. "We were all flown out on military orders," said Bell, also a former reservist. The family stayed at Raymond's side during his last hours. "Pierre just had this capacity that very few people have. . . . This capacity for life," said Bell, 30. "Even as a kid, we don't have many family photos of him because he was always running in the park." Bell said her brother joined the Army in 1998 and spent 13 months in Bosnia as a military mechanic. He was discharged in 2001, she said, and spent some time traveling before being called back in the National Guard to serve with the 228th Forward Support Battalion, 28th Infantry Division, which supported a Marine Expeditionary Force. Raymond was dispatched for retraining and arrived in Kuwait in June. He'd barely been in Iraq a week before he was wounded. For two weeks prior, he called his mother nearly every morning at 6 a.m., Boston time, his sister said. "He'd even sent letters saying Kuwait was kind of boring," Bell said. "He was waiting to be attached to a unit." Raymond went to high school in Salem High School in New Hampshire and attended Northern Essex Community College for a short time. He enjoyed fixing cars and joined the Army in part to use his skills as a mechanic. In Iraq, he was maintaining Bradley fighting vehicles. A funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Patrick Church in Lawrence. Besides his mother and sister, Raymond leaves his father, David, of Londonderry, N.H.; and two brothers, Joseph, 26, and Alfio, 32. E-mail: asamuels@globe.com