An Arlington Guard Shushed Pete Hegseth’s Group. Why Did He Get a Medal?

Pete Hegseth’s group had just posed for photographs at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Veterans Day when a laugh rang out. Thomas Iglesias, the US Army soldier on duty at the Arlington National Cemetery memorial, stopped his patrol and called towards the group. “All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times,” he said. On November 12, the day after the encounter, the US defence secretary pinned a medal on him at the Pentagon.

Why could an Army specialist tell the Pentagon chief’s group to be quiet?

It was part of his job. A sentinel is a soldier posted to guard a place. At Arlington’s tomb, that includes stepping in when visitors get loud. Staff Sergeant Chadwick Winget told the Army in 2022 that guards addressed the crowd two or three times a day on average. People often got caught up in conversation or jokes and missed how loud they had become, he said. Other visitors were there to pay their respects.

Reuters and CNN reported that Hegseth, his wife Jennifer and senior aides were near the tomb after the official Veterans Day ceremony, which President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance attended. The footage, as described by Reuters and AP, shows Iglesias addressing the group after laughter was heard. Those accounts do not identify who laughed. The guard’s instruction was addressed to “all visitors”.

What did Hegseth give him?

A Joint Service Commendation Medal. The Pentagon said Iglesias earned it for carrying out his duties at the tomb on November 11. Hegseth welcomed members of the guard’s regiment to the Pentagon the following day and posted photographs of the presentation on X. “We love soldiers. We love standards. Well done, Specialist. Carry on Patriots,” he wrote. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell had already backed the guard’s handling of the incident.

Why did this particular warning cause such a stir?

The video showed a junior soldier enforcing a rule in front of the civilian who runs the Pentagon. It also landed a day after the House voted 211–204 to send Republican congressman Thomas Massie’s impeachment resolution against Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, effectively stalling it. Hegseth rejected the impeachment case. Democratic congresswoman Gwen Moore then cited the Arlington episode in criticising him. The Pentagon’s public response focused on the soldier doing his job.

Who is buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?

Three unidentified US service members from three wars. The first was killed in World War I. The United States brought his remains back from France and buried him at Arlington on November 11, 1921. The date marked the third anniversary of the armistice that ended the fighting. The cemetery added unidentified dead from World War II and the Korean War in 1958. For families whose loved ones were never identified, the tomb offered a place to mourn.

Why is one of the crypts empty?

DNA testing gave the Vietnam War Unknown his name back. The military buried the remains at Arlington in 1984 and exhumed them in 1998. Scientists identified him as Air Force First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie, whose aircraft was shot down in 1972. His family chose to have him reburied in Missouri. The crypt stayed empty and was rededicated in 1999 to US service members still missing from the Vietnam War.

Why has someone stood guard there since 1937?

Early visitors could walk right up to the monument, and some climbed on it. Arlington introduced civilian guards in 1925 and assigned soldiers to watch during the day in 1926. The military began the round-the-clock watch in 1937. The 3rd US Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard, took over in 1948. Soldiers volunteer for the assignment and have to pass training and tests before they can take a turn.

Where do Britain, France and India honour their war dead?

Britain buried its Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey in 1920. France brought its Unknown Soldier to the Arc de Triomphe the same year and buried him there in January 1921. A flame first lit at the Paris tomb in 1923 is rekindled every evening.

In Delhi, the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate honoured those who died in the 1971 war. Its flame was merged with the one at the National War Memorial in 2022. There is a direct Arlington connection too. In April 2016, then Indian Army chief General Dalbir Singh paid tribute at the tomb in a military wreath-laying ceremony.

What will the next guard do when they take over?

Visitors at the public handover will be asked to stand and keep quiet. During the watch, the sentinel walks 21 steps along a black mat and pauses for 21 seconds facing in each of two directions before walking back. Arlington says the number evokes the 21-gun salute. In November, visitors can see the handover on the hour during cemetery opening hours. The watch continues after the gates close.