The secretary of defense visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Veterans Day, and yet the true voice of military authority on this occasion was an Army specialist.
asserted
voice → visit → occasion
When the group with Pete Hegseth laughed and began to chatter after taking a photo, the voice of Spc. Thomas Iglesias rang out, “All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times!”
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visitors → laugh → times
We aren’t used to high-level officials getting so publicly and starkly upbraided by their underlings, but Iglesias, as part of the Old Guard, or 3rd Infantry Regiment, is a different breed.
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Iglesias → upbraid → Guard
The Old Guard stands vigil over the Tomb of the Unknown, 24 hours a day, rain or shine, in heat and cold, and protects it from any indignities, whether from thoughtless tourists or the briefly voluble entourage of the secretary of defense.
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Guard → stand → defense
There was much tsk-tsking about the episode in the media, which relishes any opportunity to make Hegseth look bad.
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Hegseth → be → opportunity
The secretary, though, cleverly and appropriately, embraced the moment.
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secretary → embrace → moment
He invited Iglesias and his colleagues to the Pentagon the next day and pinned a Joint Service Commendation Medal on him.
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He → invite → him
It’s been a rocky tenure for Hegseth at the department, but there’s no doubting his bond with the troops and his positive influence on recruiting.
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It → doubt → recruiting
His handling of this matter showed why.
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handling → show → matter
“We love soldiers.
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We → love → soldiers
We love standards.
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We → love → standards
Well done, Specialist,” Hegseth wrote in a social-media post.
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Hegseth → do → post
Beyond the media commentary and jostling over Hegseth — who narrowly escaped impeachment the day before — the episode tells us something about America’s egalitarian spirit, and about the sacred status of the Tomb of the Unknown and the amazing fidelity of the Old Guard.
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episode → escape → Guard
Despite all the talk of inequality in America, we are still a culture that appreciates challenges to status and hierarchy — think Hank Morgan in “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” disdaining all aristocratic trappings.
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Morgan → appreciate → trappings
An analogue to the Hegseth episode is the famous story of Abraham Lincoln going to witness a battle outside of Washington, DC, at Fort Stevens in 1864.
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Lincoln → go → 1864
He supposedly exposed himself to enemy fire and a soldier yelled, “Get down, you damn fool!”
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soldier → expose → fire
The president indeed took cover.
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president → take → cover
Of course, Spc. Thomas Iglesias wasn’t seeking to defy authority, but rather to uphold his duty to see that the Tomb is afforded respect at all times.
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Tomb → seek → times
Established after World War I and containing the remains of war dead from World War I, World War II and the Korean War, the Tomb symbolizes the bond of the nation to its citizen-warriors who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
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who → establish → sacrifice
“HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD,” reads the inscription.
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inscription → rest → GOD
The Tomb has been continuously guarded since 1937, and since 1948 by the Old Guard.
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Tomb → guard → Guard
Its standard for carrying out its mission is nothing less than perfection.
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standard → carry → perfection
Every movement is precise and fraught with meaning — for instance, the sentinel’s 21 steps walking in front of the tomb and then the 21-second pause before turning and walking back again is a reference to the high honor of the 21-gun salute.
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steps → walk → salute
The inspection of the rifle during the changing of the guard is a strange and wondrous thing to behold, as elaborate and punctilious as a well-choreographed ballet.
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inspection → behold → ballet
It all betokens the nation’s profound gratitude to its fallen, known and unknown, of whatever rank and from whichever walk of life.
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It → betoken → life
In his book about the Old Guard, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who served with the Guard, includes an anecdote about a foreign military dignitary visiting Arlington Cemetery and commenting, “Now I know why your soldiers fight so hard.
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soldiers → serve → Cemetery
You take better care of your dead than we do our living.”
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we → take → living
Spc. Thomas Iglesias had so imbibed this ethic that he didn’t hesitate to shout his admonition to a group of highfalutin visitors, a sterling example of duty and honor worthy of the 3rd Infantry Regiment he serves.
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he → imbibe → Regiment
The Aporia
