Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier Picture Not Actually From Hurricane Sandy
A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier picture circulating that allegedly shows US military guarding the tomb in Arlington during Hurricane Sandy is not what it seems.
The real picture was actually taken by a tourist back in September, Poynter reported, but many news organizations and Twitter followers have been reporting that it’s taking place during the hurricane bearing down on the east coast. The picture was shared thousands of times on Twitter and Facebook.
ABC News apparently was wise to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier picture, noting that it was a picture from September. The report still found the picture remarkable, saying that it still reminds “people of the service of the elite soldiers who guard Arlington Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknowns in any kind of weather, even during Hurricane Sandy.”
“That the picture was actually taken in September is another matter,” the report notes, “Because even as Hurricane Sandy makes its way along the Eastern seaboard, soldiers are there, guarding the tomb in the fierce wind and rain.”
Other outlets didn’t catch on and respected ones at that. NPR had posted the picture along with a story about guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before later posting an update that the picture wasn’t in fact from Hurricane Sandy. The Los Angeles Times and The Huffington Post also had stories believing that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier picture was from Hurricane Sandy.
Since 1948, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been guarded by the Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment’s “Old Guard.” It has been guarded a full 24 hours a day, 365 days a year during that time.
As AJR tracked down, the real Tomb of the Unknown Soldier picture was taken during a rainstorm on September 18. It was one of a series of pictures taken that day by photographer Karin Markert, who posted the pictures on a photo sharing site.
