The Old Guard Museum, located in Arlington's Fort Myer, is dedicated to the history of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) with a special focus on their roles in times of national mourning. [1] [2] [3] [4] The museum collection includes uniforms from historic moments related to the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and their collection of flags includes one from the Mexican–American War. [5] [6]
Their staff is sometimes also charged with interpreting other pieces of military history. [7]
The Old Guard Museum closed to the public on September 30, 2008. The museum collection was consolidated with overall Army Museum Enterprise historical collection.
A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and to the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-profile national monuments. Throughout history, many soldiers have died in war with their remains being unidentified. Following World War I, a movement arose to commemorate these soldiers with a single tomb, containing the body of one such unidentified soldier.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a historic monument dedicated to deceased U.S. service members whose remains have not been identified. It is located in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, United States. The World War I "Unknown" is a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the Victoria Cross, and several other foreign nations' highest service awards. The U.S. Unknowns who were interred are also recipients of the Medal of Honor, presented by U.S. presidents who presided over their funerals. The monument has no officially designated name.
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two cemeteries in the United States National Cemetery System that are maintained by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres in Arlington, Virginia.
Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and Fort Whipple, the post merged in 2005 with the neighboring Marine Corps installation, Henderson Hall, and is today named Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall.
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving personnel from the Australian colonies prior to Federation. Opened in 1941, the memorial includes an extensive national military museum.
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a tomb situated before the National War Memorial in Confederation Square, Ottawa, Ontario. The tomb is dedicated to Canadian service members, and holds the remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier who died in France during the First World War; selected from a Commonwealth War Grave near Vimy, in the vicinity where the Battle of Vimy Ridge took place.
A riderless horse is a single horse without a rider and with boots reversed in the stirrups, which sometimes accompanies a funeral procession. The horse, sometimes caparisoned in black, follows the caisson carrying the casket. A riderless horse can also be featured in parades to symbolize either fallen soldiers, fallen police officers or deceased equestrian athletes. A motorcycle can be used as a substitute for a horse though such practice is very rare.
The Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Identification Badge is a military badge of the United States Army that honors those soldiers who have been chosen to serve as members of the Honor Guard, known as "Sentinels", at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is the third-least awarded badge in the US Military, after the Military Horseman Identification Badge and the Astronaut Badge. As of August 2021, 688 soldiers have been awarded this badge.
The 3rd United States Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army. It currently has three active battalions, and is readily identified by its nickname, The Old Guard, as well as Escort to the President. The regimental motto is Noli Me Tangere. The regiment is a major unit of the Military District of Washington (MDW).
The United States Army Military District of Washington (MDW) is one of nineteen major commands of the United States Army. Its headquarters are located at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C. The missions of the units in the Military District of Washington include ceremonial tasks as well as a combat role in the defense of the National Capital Region.
The General George Patton Museum of Leadership is a publicly accessible museum on Fort Knox, Kentucky, dedicated to the memory and life lessons of General George S. Patton, Jr., and the continuing education of Junior Army leaders in the U.S. Army and in particular the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps. The museum is administered by U.S. Army Cadet Command, Fort Knox and U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command as part of the Center for Military History.
The Federal Military Memorial Cemetery is a national cemetery of Russia, located in Mytishchinsky District, Moscow Oblast, on the north-eastern outskirts of Moscow.
The British grave of the Unknown Warrior holds an unidentified member of the British armed forces killed on a European battlefield during the First World War. He was given a state funeral and buried in Westminster Abbey, London on 11 November 1920, simultaneously with a similar interment of a French unknown soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in France, making both graves the first examples of a tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the first to honour the unknown dead of the First World War.
In the United States, state funerals are the official funerary rites conducted by the federal government in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., that are offered to a sitting or former president, a president-elect, high government officials and other civilians who have rendered distinguished service to the nation. Administered by the Military District of Washington (MDW), a command unit of the Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region, state funerals are greatly influenced by protocol, steeped in tradition, and rich in history. However, the overall planning as well as the decision to hold a state funeral, is largely determined by a president and their family.
The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the British and Commonwealth dead of the First World War, was rededicated in 1946 to include those of the Second World War, and has since come to represent British casualties from later conflicts. The word cenotaph is derived from Greek, meaning 'empty tomb'. Most of the dead were buried close to where they fell; thus, the Cenotaph symbolises their absence and is a focal point for public mourning. The original temporary Cenotaph was erected in 1919 for a parade celebrating the end of the First World War, at which more than 15,000 servicemen, including French and American soldiers, saluted the monument. More than a million people visited the site within a week of the parade.
The Military Horseman Identification Badge recognizes United States Army soldiers who complete the nine-week Basic Horsemanship Course and serve as a lead rider on the Caisson team within the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. The badge was first awarded on September 29, 2017, to soldiers during a ceremony held at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia.
Fred Moore is a former U.S. Army soldier and former member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, best known as the prestigious "The Old Guard” or Honor Guard Company sentinel of Company E, 4th Battalion.
Heather Lynn Johnsen is a former U.S. Army soldier and former member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, best known as the highly prestigious "The Old Guard" or Honor Guard Company sentinel of Company E, 4th Battalion.