From Bunker Hill to Heartbreak Ridge they gave their all for our country and our freedom. Now, the Guards of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier give all they have to honor these fallen nameless heroes.
On November 11, 1921, the first soldier was interned at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Since July 1937, the best of the best Army soldiers have competed for the privilege and the honor of standing guard over the Tomb. Now, 24 hours a day members of this elite unit walk the 21 steps on the plaza with their hat brims two fingers above their eyes, their gloves dampened, their forearms at a 90 degree angle.
Their standard is perfection. Their mission is to honor these fallen heroes.
Incredibly inspiring, this book will call each of us to this very hallowed place to spend a small piece of our own lives honoring the courage and the sacrifice of these soldiers, marines, airmen, sailors who are buried here.
A perfect read for Memorial Day and Veterans Day or any day when war and history are being explored in the classroom.
32 pages 978-1536201482 Ages 7-10
Keywords: military, patriotism, American history, honor, wars, values, heroes, sacrifice, perfection, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, customs and traditions, Social Studies Curriculum, 7 year old, 8 year old, 9 year old, 10 year old
Recommended by Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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With every step, the Tomb Guards pay homage to America’s fallen. Discover their story, and that of the unknown soldiers they honor, through resonant words and illustrations.
Keeping vigil at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in Arlington National Cemetery, are the sentinel guards, whose every step, every turn, honors and remembers America’s fallen. They protect fellow soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, making sure they are never alone. To stand there—with absolute precision, in every type of weather, at every moment of the day, one in a line uninterrupted since midnight July 2, 1937—is the ultimate privilege and the most difficult post to earn in the army. Everything these men and women do is in service to the Unknowns. Their standard is perfection.
Exactly how the unnamed men came to be entombed at Arlington, and exactly how their fellow soldiers have come to keep vigil over them, is a sobering and powerful tale, told by Jeff Gottesfeld and luminously illustrated by Matt Tavares—a tale that honors the soldiers who honor the fallen.---from the publisher
