Donna's Trip

Inspection of Weapon

September 2006

This photo is from our collection, not Donna's, but she promises to share some with us at some point. Remember, she's blonde and busy.

I love Donna. She's Jerrod's mom, and Jerrod was Aaron's best friend for years. Donna is fun. She's like a kid when it comes to trips. Here is a little bit about one she took not too long ago to our NATION'S CAPITAL. She was so excited, and I was excited for her. I knew it would turn her on to our history and our sacrifice in a way like no other.

She's allowed me to share these emails with you. Here they are:

HI EVERYONE, I WILL BE GONE FEB 25 THRU MARCH 6, I AM GOING TO WASHINGTON AND NEW YORK CITY, I AM VERY EXCITED TO BE GOING, DAN IS TAKING ME, WE WILL BE GOING TO GROUND ZERO, DEON THIS IS FOR YOU AND AARON’ S MEMORY, I WILL TRY AND BRING YOU SOMETHING BACK FROM THERE.THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE FOR ME TO BE GOING.I LOVE ALL OF YA AND I’LL SEE YOU WHEN I GET BACK.

***

Hey Deon, I made it home and boy what a trip it was, seeing the Changing of the Guards was awesome and pretty emotional, I cried during the whole process. We saw it twice and the second time we got to see the Changing of the Wreath. We also go to take a tour of the Capitol; it was truly an honor to get to do that. We saw Dan’s son get sworn in by the U.S.Supreme Court. Truly impressive. Yes you were right it does change the way we feel about the war and our troops. The Wall of Names that died was so sad. So many there. I am glad I got the opportunity to go with Dan, Mine and Dan’s thoughts as we walked through the Arlington Cemetery were on Aaron the whole time, I would look over at Dan and I would say something about Aaron and Dan said I was thinking about him too. He said you know Aaron could have been buried here, I said yes he could have… But his heart was in Texas and he told Jerrod he wanted to be buried in Texas. The new blog looks great; we’ll never forget Aaron Cole Austin.

I do have some stuff for you and I will get it to you soon, I am going to try and go to Kayla’s Party tomorrow, so maybe I’ll see you there. I love you sis, Donna

***

The Changing of the Guard

The guard is changed every hour on the hour Oct. 1 to March 31 in an elaborate ritual. From April 1 through September 30, there are more than double the opportunities to view the change because another change is added on the half hour and the cemetery closing time moves from 5 to 7 p.m.

An impeccably uniformed relief commander appears on the plaza to announce the Changing of the Guard. Soon the new sentinel leaves the Quarters and unlocks the bolt of his or her M-14 rifle to signal to the relief commander to start the ceremony. The relief commander walks out to the Tomb and salutes, then faces the spectators and asks them to stand and stay silent during the ceremony.

The relief commander conducts a detailed white-glove inspection of the weapon, checking each part of the rifle once. Then, the relief commander and the relieving sentinel meet the retiring sentinel at the center of the matted path in front of the Tomb. All three salute the Unknowns who have been symbolically given the Medal of Honor. Then the relief commander orders the relieved sentinel, "Pass on your orders." The current sentinel commands, "Post and orders, remain as directed." The newly posted sentinel replies, "Orders acknowledged," and steps into position on the black mat. When the relief commander passes by, the new sentinel begins walking at a cadence of 90 steps per minute.

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.

Duty time when not "walking" is spent in the Tomb Guard Quarters below the Memorial Display Room of the Memorial Amphitheater where they study Cemetery "knowledge," clean their weapons and help the rest of their relief prepare for the Changing of the Guard. The guards also train on their days off.

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."

For more info on these awesome Guards, click here.