Guard tells people to stfu at the tomb of the unknown soldie

Is this a rule that there is no talking in this spot? Not that I would prattle on, but I would likely say something to my travel companion as I observe the area/ceremony. We have a tomb of the unknown soldier in Ottawa but I have never heard of silence being a requirement in that location.

Good for him!
(Your thread title made me laugh a little, because my in-laws are Italian and that's what they say for money, "soldi")

Good for him. They have signs up asking people to be quiet and respectful. My parents live near DC and my grandparents are buried there. My grandfather was killed in WWII when my mom was a baby. We visit Arlington in the summer when we visit my parents. Even my kids understand that they have to stop talking when we visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

People do talk all the GD time. It drives me crazy. Good for him. I was there years ago with a 4-H group and they made it very clear to all of us beforehand that we were to be silent and respectful and we were.

Thank you freebird!! And, good for him. It's a pretty somber and solemn area; too many people seem to forget what it represents.

They do this A LOT. Very sad that we are losing our respect and manners as a country.

They will also request that men remove their hats. Wtf? Men today have to be told to remove their hats at this hallowed ceremony?

DS was chosen with 3 others in his 8th grade class to participate in the laying-of-the-wreath ceremony from their small school. They were given strict instructions to be solemn and respectful ~ and they were.

Thank you. That is good to know. I think I need to go do some research to find out the history behind this particular area and the strict rules. 

When we were at the American Cemetery in Normandy, a bus full of French schoolkids pulled up. They got out and were horsing around and wow did their teacher give them an earful about being respectful. A major earful. Those kids shaped right up.

(It turned into an interesting experience because later on a few kids from that group came up and asked, in English, if we were Americans. When we said that we were, they pulled out a piece of paper and recited something like, "thank you for your country's service in World War II." I thanked them and told them that my grandfather was a D-Day survivor and later was in Paris. They were actually interested in that. I then added that I would like to thank their country for their service in the American Revolution. They went running back to their teacher and we then heard the name Lafayette being thrown about.)

We experienced the same at Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. Every few minutes, a woman would cry out "Silence!" over a loudspeaker (not quite as satisfying as what the guard gets to say). People couldn't even refrain from talking for more than a few minutes at a time. It is a beautiful chapel, especially when the light streams through the stained glass in the afternoon. I think people become excited and feel the need to talk about it, despite the signs and the "Silence!" reminder person.

I've never visited a tomb of unknown soldier, but I have been to Pearl Harbor and it was eerily silent. I'm ok with that. However, I am an emotional person and I did cry when reading the list of names at the memorial. I wasn't the only one crying, but our sniffles were definitely the only sounds.