Guard tells Pete Hegseth’s group to maintain silence at military tomb

A soldier guarding Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier told US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s group to maintain silence and respect on 11 November 2026, according to RTÉ. The exchange followed a Veterans Day ceremony as Hegseth and aides took photographs by the memorial.

• The guard called for visitors to maintain “an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times.”
• The group included Hegseth, his wife Jennifer and three named aides; a loud laugh was heard as they finished taking photos.
• Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the soldier correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum.

RTÉ reported that video showed Hegseth taking pictures on the empty steps in front of the tomb with Jennifer, chief of staff Ricky Buria, deputy chief of staff Patrick Weaver and senior adviser Tami Radabaugh. As the group broke from the photos, a loud laugh could be heard before the sentinel spoke. NBC News described Hegseth looking over his shoulder and continuing up the stairs without acknowledging the reprimand. The reporting does not identify who laughed.

The group was at the tomb as part of a larger Veterans Day ceremony attended by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. RTÉ reported that Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony. The tomb is the final resting place of unidentified soldiers from the First World War, the Second World War and the Korean War. TheJournal.ie, reporting credited to AFP, says the memorial also includes an empty burial site honouring missing service members who died in the Vietnam War.

What it means

The Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as The Old Guard, has guarded the tomb around the clock and in all weather since 1948, RTÉ reported. The guard’s reminder addressed visitor conduct at a memorial that honours unidentified service members from several wars and the missing from Vietnam.

The incident came a day after the Republican-led House voted 211-204 to shelve an impeachment resolution against Hegseth, NBC News reported. Representative Thomas Massie led the effort and introduced articles of impeachment that week; RTÉ reported that Democrats backed it. Hegseth called the resolutions “sabotage” and argued they treated service members’ service as a crime, according to RTÉ.

Representative Gwen Moore, a Wisconsin Democrat, said the incident showed Hegseth’s “utter lack of fitness for his office” and accused him of disrespecting the tomb’s sanctity, RTÉ reported. Her comments were a political reaction to the episode.