There’s a picture going around on Twitter and Instagram today that shows three U.S. soldiers, members of the 3rd U.S. Army Infantry Regiment–The Old Guard, standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetary. The soliders are resolute as the rain and winds of Hurricane Sandy pound them.
This tweet, by Buzzfeed’s Samir Mezrahi, includes a link to the photo in question. It has been retweeted over 3,500 times:
OMG at this pic of soldiers currently at the Tomb of the Unknowns in DC. instagr.am/p/RXyOHBRFHI/
— Samir Mezrahi (@samir) October 29, 2012
Photo credit: hmack3 on Instagram
There’s just one probrem with this photo: it’s not what everyone is saying it is. It wasn’t taken earlier today. It doesn’t show the soldiers standing in the middle of Hurricane Sandy.
Though the photo in question is labeled as a photo taken earlier today, it’s actually an older photo. The official Twitter account of The Old Guard has corrected a few prominent retweeters about the origin of the photo that’s being shared:
@samir This was not taken today.We posted a pic today facebook.com/oldguard
— The Old Guard (@The_Old_Guard) October 29, 2012
Of course, whether or not the picture was taken today doesn’t change the honorable work that The Old Guard does. Rain or shine, they are guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns. In fact, the official Facebook page of The Old Guard posted a few photos–actually taken today–that show a soldier standing at the Tomb in the rain:
Photo credit: The Old Guard on Facebook
Photo credit: The Old Guard on Facebook
