Sentinel calls for silence as Hegseth group leaves Arlington tomb

An Army sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier called for silence Wednesday as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his group left the memorial after a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Hegseth, his wife Jen and several aides had posed for a photograph near the tomb. As they began walking away, someone in the group laughed, CBS News reported. The sentinel called out: “All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times.”

CBS News said it was unclear who laughed or whether Hegseth made any noise. NBC News reported that members of the group had been taking pictures, talking and laughing in front of the tomb. NBC quoted the sentinel as saying visitors must maintain “atmospheric silence and respect.”

Hegseth did not acknowledge the warning, looking over his shoulder and continuing up a set of stairs, according to NBC News.

The exchange followed a Veterans Day wreath-laying at the tomb and a ceremony at the nearby Memorial Auditorium. President Donald Trump laid a wreath to honor fallen service members, and first lady Melania Trump attended the event. CBS News identified Hegseth’s chief of staff, Ricky Buria, as among the aides visiting with him.

Asked about the incident, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth and the department honor the sacrifices of military personnel. “The Secretary and the entire Department have always honored—and will always honor—the sacrifices our military men and women have made to keep America safe,” Parnell said in a statement to CBS News. “While commemorating this solemn day, a soldier correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum.”

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier honors American service members from World War I and later conflicts whose remains were never identified. Army sentinels guard the tomb around the clock. Their changing-of-the-guard ceremony is a familiar sight at Arlington.

Sentinels sometimes call out visitors who disrupt the quiet expected at the memorial. In a 2022 Army interview cited by CBS News, Staff Sgt. Chadwick Winget, who belonged to the regiment that guards the tomb, said sentinels respond to crowd behavior two or three times a day. CBS News said CNN first reported Wednesday’s incident.