FRIDAY FOTO (January 14, 2022)
January 13, 2022 at 11:55 pm 5 comments
First Snow, Last Post.
(U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser / Arlington National Cemetery)
Snow falls in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia on January 3, 2022. This was the first snow of the year.
The holiday wreaths are placed on the graves during National Wreaths Across America Day in mid-December. During the annual event, nearly 38,000 volunteers place 257,000 wreaths at every gravesite, columbarium court column and niche wall column at Arlington National Cemetery
And yes, despite the cold and snow, the sentinels of “The Old Guard,” the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment maintained their solitary watch over America’s honored, unknown dead at Arlington.
(U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser / Arlington National Cemetery)
Entry filed under: Army, FRIDAY FOTO, National Security and Defense, Photos, Traditions, Washington. Tags: Arlington National Cemetery, FRIDAY FOTO, FRIDAY FOTO 2022, Tomb of the Unknowns, U.S. Army, Wreaths Across America.
4GWAR 
1.
GP | January 14, 2022 at 7:13 am
What do you mean, ‘Last Post’?
2.
John M. Doyle | January 14, 2022 at 8:56 am
Thanks for asking GP. In military tradition, the Last Post is the bugle call that signifies the end of day’s activities. It is also sounded at military funerals in the UK and Commonwealth to indicate the soldier has gone to their final rest.
Apologies to those who think an American bugle call would have been more appropriate but “Taps” wouldn’t have worked in the headline and “Last Colors” is not well known and is a far less haunting tune than “The Last Post.”
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As this YouTube video demonstrates:.
3.
GP | January 14, 2022 at 1:42 pm
Thank you for such an explicit answer. Once I started the video, I did recall knowing that about Last Post and am very embarrassed for forgetting. A very respectful ceremony.
4.
John M. Doyle | January 14, 2022 at 9:01 am
Thanks for asking GP. In military tradition, the Last Post is the bugle call that signifies the end of day’s activities. It is also sounded at military funerals in the UK and Commonwealth militaries to indicate the soldier has gone to their final rest.
Apologies to purists who think an American bugle call would have been more appropriate, but “Taps” wouldn’t have worked in the headline and the U.S. Army’s brief “Last Colors” is not as well known and far less powerful than “The Last Post,” which this YouTube video demonstrates:
5.
John M. Doyle | January 17, 2022 at 1:47 am
No worries GP. I was just gonna post that first paragraph and leave it at that, but decided to check a little further, to make sure I wasn’t oversimplifying the issue. I’m glad now that I included the video. (I believe the first few notes of this bugle call is sounded in the final sequence of the 1939 film Gunga Din.