On Veterans Day, the Army soldier guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier had to stop and reprimand Pete Hegseth’s group. Hegseth, his wife and his top aides had been taking pictures, talking and laughing in front of one of the most sacred sites in the country. It happened less than a day after House Republicans saved his job.
What Happened at the Tomb
President Trump had just laid a wreath at the Tomb on Wednesday to honor fallen service members. Once Trump left, Hegseth and his entourage, including his wife Jennifer, began posing for photos on the memorial steps. Video shows him alongside chief of staff Ricky Buria, deputy chief of staff Patrick Weaver and senior adviser Tami Radabaugh.
As the group broke from the photo shoot, a loud laugh rang out. The sentinel shouted: “All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times.” According to NBC News, Hegseth made no acknowledgment of the reprimand. He glanced over his shoulder and kept walking up the stairs.
The Most Sacred Ground in Arlington
![DVIDS - Images - Modified Watch at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier [Image 2 of 9]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ViCJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff06a8bdb-ed5e-44c0-88ae-cc3fc26e33e1_1000x667.jpeg "DVIDS - Images - Modified Watch at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier [Image 2 of 9]")
The Tomb holds unidentified American service members killed in World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Soldiers from the Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard, have guarded it around the clock since 1948, rain or shine.
There is basically one rule for visitors: be silent and be respectful. Tourists get reminded of it all the time. On Veterans Day, the soldier had to remind the man who runs the entire Pentagon.
Mr. Standards Needed a Reminder
This is the same Hegseth who summoned hundreds of generals to Quantico to lecture them about discipline. He told them the “era of unprofessional appearance is over” and went after troops with beards and out-of-shape generals.
He holds every soldier to his standards. Then on the most solemn day of the year, a junior soldier had to hold HIM to the standard of a tourist. The sentinel did his job. Hegseth’s crew did not.
One Day After Republicans Saved Him
The timing could not be worse. On Monday, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie filed eight articles of impeachment accusing Hegseth of waging an unauthorized war on Iran, extrajudicial killings and retaliating against Sen. Mark Kelly. On Tuesday, the Republican-led House voted 211-204 to shove the resolution off to committee, and Massie was the only Republican voting to keep it alive.
That morning, Hegseth claimed the impeachment push told service members “their service was a crime.” Trump gloated about the vote, calling it an “exoneration.” Less than 24 hours later, Hegseth’s group was getting scolded at the grave of the Unknown Soldier.
The Pentagon Responds
The Pentagon did not deny any of it. Chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth and the department “have always honored” the sacrifices of service members. He added that a soldier “correctly and respectfully reminded everyone” to maintain decorum. Hegseth himself has not addressed it.
Democrats were not so polite. Rep. Gwen Moore said Hegseth showed “his utter lack of fitness for his office.” She said he was disrespecting the sanctity of the Tomb one day after narrowly avoiding impeachment.
Not the First Time at Arlington
This is not the first time Team Trump has treated Arlington like a photo set. In August 2024, the Army confirmed that a cemetery employee was “abruptly pushed aside” by Trump campaign aides who were filming in Section 60, where recent war dead are buried.
Now it is the Secretary of Defense. Democrats take control of the House in January, and Speaker-in-waiting Hakeem Jeffries has signaled the push to remove Hegseth is not over.
The Bottom Line
The Republican Party spent Tuesday protecting Pete Hegseth. On Wednesday, a soldier standing guard over America’s unknown dead had to tell his crew to show some respect. That soldier understood what Veterans Day means. The people running the Pentagon needed to be told.
Sources: NBC News (Eleanor Skelly, Mosheh Gains, Courtney Kube, Raquel Coronell Uribe), Los Angeles Times (Konstantin Toropin), Fox News (Brittany Miller), Rolling Stone (Ryan Bort), HuffPost (Ed Mazza), USA Today, The Independent, Reuters, NPR.