The Old Guard

...The pride of that unit is enduring," reflects Major Kevin Stroop, one of the two Old Guard chaplains based at Fort Myer, head-quartered next door to the cemetery...

...In the distance, the rifle team stands as rigid as sentinels, ready to fire in homage to the fallen soldier...

...Silent precision is the hallmark of the Old Guard—the Army's 3rd US Infantry...

...Many of the vets have little family left...

...Each flag will be inserted exactly one boot length from the center of each tombstone, creating lines as perfectly straight as those of the white tombstones...

...After the service," says Stroop, "he commented that this year it would just be himself...

...Maiorana says each "ceremony is as perfect as it can be for the family's benefit and the fallen soldier...

...The soldiers are much younger, there is more grief," says Stroop...

...Night and day, it stands watch over those we have lost and the nation's capital...

...They stand guard over the Tomb of the Unknowns 365 days, serve at 35 U.S...

...It practiced one last time through the dead of night before the farewell parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S...

...They act "as one unit," says Cauley, bringing an atmosphere of comforting order to the shroud of Arlington National Cemetery for families whose special requests are always accommodated...

...In addition to serving as the official Army Honor Guard, it is responsible for protecting Washington, D.C., a duty of greater consequence since September 11...

...For nearly 13 years, two times a week, the Old Guard prepared for that moment, perfecting every detail, from escorting the presidential caisson to leading the riderless horse with the reversed boot...

...i Amy K. Mitchell is managing editor of The American Spectator...

...Out of respect for these families, says Maiorana, the Old Guard is "as silent as possible...

...Only a few sounds break their v silence: the clip of a soldier's shoes, the clop of the horses' hooves, the creak of the caisson wheels...

...By contrast, the services for those killed in Iraq are not sparsely attended...

...The Old Guard's protocol at funerals, says Stroop,is "always the same...

...Army burials a week, and perform at more than 1,600 military ceremonies each year...

...14 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR MAY 2005 The Old Guard accompanied the body of President Reagan to California for the sunset burial with full military honors in Simi Valley...

...The first sergeant had met the colonel at a reunion of vets last year...

...At Reagan's funeral, the Old Guard appeared on center stage, but every day, out of public eye, these "quiet professionals," as Sergeant Jason Cauley describes them, silently pay respect to our nation's fallen heroes...

...THE OLD GUARD BY AMY K. MITCHELL BEGINNING IN THE EARLY MORNING of Memorial Day, some 1,000 soldiers from "The Old Guard" will spend nearly five hours placing an American flag in front of each of the more than 260,000 tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery...

...Practice for each and every burial is ongoing, which makes the Old Guard's movement so imperceptible and unobtrusive...

...Capitol...

...Recently Stroopmet a WWII first sergeant at the burial of a colonel who fought in the China-India-Burma theater...

...To give him the proper representation he deserves...

...Staff Sergeant Otto Maiorana of Echo Company adds, "One of the most gripping moments is when the families let their emotions out...

...This May more than 70 veterans of World War II will be buried and honored by the Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery...

...Whether it is a veteran of World War II or an active duty death, this is one of the enduring gifts that is given to the family from the Army—the same amount of honor and tradition...

...Many Americans became familiar with the Old Guard last June during President Ronald Reagan's state funeral...