Army sentinel rebukes Pete Hegseth and aides for laughing at Arlington's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

A reprimand at the tomb

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stopped at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Wednesday, 11 November, after a Veterans Day wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery that President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance also attended. Also in the photos were Tami Radabaugh, a senior adviser, Patrick Weaver, the deputy chief of staff, Ricky Buria, the chief of staff, and Hegseth's wife, Jennifer Hegseth. Footage first broadcast by CNN shows the group laughing and chatting as it began to walk away, and the video spread widely on US networks and social media. A sentinel from The Old Guard, the 3rd Infantry Regiment that has guarded the tomb since 1948, turned toward the party and shouted that visitors must keep silence and show respect at all times. He appeared to gesture back at the group before leaving the frame. The laugh that prompted the rebuke came from a woman in the group who has not been publicly identified.

Pentagon response and political reaction

The Pentagon's chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, issued a statement later on Wednesday acknowledging the episode and backing the sentinel. He told NBC News that Hegseth and the department had always honored the sacrifices of the military. In the statement he said:

“While commemorating this solemn day, a soldier correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum.”

Democrats responded quickly. Congresswoman Gwen Moore of Wisconsin wrote on X that Hegseth had shown contempt for service members by disrespecting the tomb. She tied the episode to the previous day's impeachment vote, writing:

“Pete Hegseth continues to demonstrate his utter lack of fitness for his office.”

The 3rd Infantry Regiment did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The impeachment backdrop

The reprimand came one day after Hegseth survived an impeachment effort in Congress. On Tuesday, 10 November, the push, led by Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky and backed by Democrats, did not succeed. Republicans may have only delayed it, since Democrats are set to take control of the House and the Senate in January and are expected to revive it. Hegseth addressed the matter at his first news conference in months, portraying Massie as a rogue legislator. He argued that Massie had committed none of the high crimes that the constitution requires for removal, and he said that criticism of his handling of the military amounted to an indictment of the nation.

Background at the cemetery

The tomb is the final resting place for unidentified service members from World War I, World War II and Korea, and an empty crypt honors missing soldiers from the Vietnam War. The site has drawn political friction before. In 2024, members of Trump's campaign staff were told not to take photographs in Section 60, where troops killed in recent conflicts are buried, because cemetery policy bans political use of imagery from that section. The episode produced a standoff between a cemetery official and a worker for the campaign, and Trump images shot there later turned up in his campaign materials. In 2017, during Trump's first term, he visited the grave of Marine 1st Lt. Robert Michael Kelly, whose father, John F. Kelly, had been his chief of staff at the time.