Never Will I Falter

America’s entire East Coast is under assault from “Frankenstorm” Sandy tonight.

All of New York is shut down, partially flooded, and half the city has lost power. Nine state governors have declared emergencies and millions of residents are without electricity and under evacuation orders.

In the middle of all this, a sleeper story of human resilience and determination has taken the social media by storm.

Since midnight of July 2, 1937, the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery has been guarded around the clock, without any interruptions. In 1948, guard duty was assigned to the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, also known as “The Old Guard“. Since then, they have been true to their credo to “never falter”. Never have the remains of the soldiers buried at the tomb been left alone.

On their Twitter feed and Facebook page, the Old Guard has made it clear that come Sandy, they have no intention of abandoning their post. Their Facebook statement from Monday reads:

“The Sentinels at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier maintain their vigil even as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the Eastern Seaboard. The Old Guard has guarded the tomb every minute of every day since April 6, 1948. Today will be no exception.”

The message widely resonated in a nation full of doubt, uncertainty and crisis. And now, as the outpouring of encouraging social media postings indicates, the Old Guard clearly have a cross section of America high-fiving and rooting for them.

Here is a photo taken during a storm last month. (I could not determine who the photographer was. Internet users have mistakenly connected the picture with Sandy).