On Jeopardy the other night, the final question was:

How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the Tomb of the Unknown

Soldier ------ All three missed it ---



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 anyway. After two years, the guard is given a wreath pi n 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
E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most Decorate d soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame. Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for Guard duty.


ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

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. TheyrRespectfully 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 a assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930. 

God Bless and keep them.

Instead of a week in review, here are our 5 days in review from Myrtle Beach, SC:

Our gorgeous view, 20 feet from the doors to the condo - doesn't this look like a postcard?

  We sure did have fun in the sand and the waves but my kids enjoyed the pool much better!!

Coop could hold his whole face underwater for a full 5 seconds while Molly and Brody had fun floating and jumping off the side to Daddy!!

This Cox Clan sure cleans up nicely if I do say so myself!  We had so much fun at Myrtle Beach thanks to my mom and dad who let us borrow points from their time share (Blue Green Resorts) and to Chad's mom for going with us and helping with the ninny-muggins!!  We definetly didn't want to come home!!

I thought you might want to take a peek at my new favorite obsession and hobby - I have been making pillowcase dresses for Miss Molly, her friends, our relatives and generally anyone who wants one! 

Here are the first few that I have made (and I am quite proud of myself too)!!

I hope to eventually get good enough to make and sale these (very soon) so be thinking about who in your family needs one, what print or solid you would be interested in and start letting me know!  I am going to sell them for $15 for the dress and $20 for the dress and matching bow!  If you take a look online you will see those prices are a steal!!  Thanks for taking a peek!

My wonderful friend Gini is on a mission trip for the next few days in Cebu, Phillipines.  Her team will be working in an orphanage and they are doing a blog that I thought you might be interested in reading.  I heard from Gini via text this morning and she said they had been at the landfill where people actually live.  She said it was overwhelming and she saw at least 5 toddlers running through the landfill with no clothes on.  They went to the landfill to rescue children who might be living on their own there for various reasons.  Please pray for the Phillipines mission team and their families here at home but especially for the children's and worker's lives that they will undoubtedly touch while they are there.

Check out their on-going blog at:

http://firstumcjcpm.blogspot.com/

  I needed a reminder today of just how sweet my children can be - when they are sleeping!!  Ha ha!