Patrick K. O'Donnell

The old guard is one of our oldest units.

And the guarding of the tomb dates back to the mid to late 1920s because the tomb was created on November 11, 1921, with President Harding presiding.

And then for several years, it was unguarded.

And what happened, though, there was a tremendous amount of disrespect to the tomb.

People would actually have picnics on and near the tomb.

And then they brought in the old guard and the ceremonies and the honor that they bring.

Arlington is the most sacred of all sacred grounds, Steve, within the United States.

It's just such a special and solemn place.

And, you know, after the American Civil War, Lee's Mansion was taken over and the dead of the war were buried there.

in and around its grounds and it continues to this day.

The Tomb of the Unknown, as I mentioned, it's during the Harding administration on November 11th, 1921, that the tomb is commemorated.

And this is a very, very special day because it's a bringing together of the country.

And here you have,

The great groups of the country beat the NAACP, for instance.

There are Medal of Honor recipients from the Civil War forward that come, that line the streets.

There's a tremendous procession of military leaders from around the world, from the victorious powers of World War I that arrived.

And they bring the remains down from the Capitol Rotunda where it was lying in state on a carriage that is escorted by the body bearers.

The remains are first brought from France on the Olympia.

It's the great cruiser that still is in

in Philadelphia Harbor.