Speaker: Tom Tudor was a member of Company E (Honor Guard Company), 1st Battalion, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) from June, 1968, through June, 1970, serving as a Sentinel and rising to the rank of Commander of the 2nd Relief.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery was established by Congress in 1921. Interred there are the remains of a soldier “known but to God” from World Wars I & II and the Korean War. No soldiers from the Vietnam War, or the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, are interred there; the current state of forensic science is so advanced that all casualties from those conflicts have eventually been identified. The Tomb is guarded around the clock by a specialty platoon organized into three squads known as “reliefs.” The reliefs are organized based on height so that the tomb guards are similar in size during the Changing of the Guard. To become a tomb guard, a member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment must volunteer by applying for appointment through the Sergeant of the Guard. Our speaker will describe the selection and training process required of them. He also will provide historical background on the Arlington National Cemetery property itself and how it ultimately was acquired by the United States government in 1882 as a final resting place for veterans of the Civil War. The core of this Virginia property was originally part of the estate of Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of Robert E. Lee and great-grandaughter of Martha Washington. The first military burial there occurred in 1864. The sweeping view of Washington from the crest of the hill in front of the Lee mansion made it an increasingly popular burial place over the ensuing two decades. Because the headstones originally used there were made from painted wood that lasted no more than five years, Congress in 1873 legislated that marble headstones were to be used in all national cemeteries. Today, as Arlington National Cemetery nears its capacity, eligibility for in-ground burial there is the most stringent on all our national cemeteries. Our speaker will provide us with insight into the Cemetery’s future as we approach the mid-point of the third tricentennial of the American Revolution.