Storm did not stop soldiers from honoring fallen with flags

Soldier Seen Placing Flag at Tomb of Unknown Soldier During Torrential Rain

FOX News
By Robert Gearty
26 May 2019

Soldiers from the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) place U.S. flags at headstones as part of Flags-In at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, May 23, 2019. For more than 55 years, soldiers from the Old Guard have honored our nation’s fallen heroes by placing U.S. flags at gravesites for service members buried at both Arlington National Cemetery and the U.S. Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery just prior to the Memorial Day weekend. Within four hours, more than 1,000 soldiers place 245,000 flags in front of every headstone and Columbarium and niche wall column. (Elizabeth Fraser/U.S. Army)

An “Old Guard” soldier who was photographed placing a small American flag at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during a severe thunderstorm is drawing notice ahead of Memorial Day.

Flags In is an annual military operation carried out by The Old Guard before Memorial Day weekend in which soldiers plant over 245,000 U.S. flags at the graves of Arlington National Cemetery. (Maryam Treece/U.S. Army) The storm hit Thursday in D.C. as members of the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment, better known as “The Old Guard,” were planting flags at each grave at the cemetery as they do each year at this time.

“During the storm, one of the most extraordinary displays of discipline and dedication to duty ever to be witnessed at Arlington National Cemetery was taking place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” the Old Guard’s Facebook page said in a post.

“With only a few watching from cover, a Tomb Sentinel approached the Unknowns with U.S. flags in hand. As thunder shook the ground and rains washed down without abandon, the Tomb Sentinel pierced through the elements with breath-taking precision.

“He knelt and placed the flags in honor of the Unknowns. For the select few who saw this moment, it was jaw-dropping. Humans have their limits, but The Old Guard has yet to meet theirs.”
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