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Color flushed into Sgt. Adam Dickmyerâs face as he breathed heavily. Through tinted sunglasses he sternly gazed at Spec. Ethan Morse, a Soldier of skinny build, on a muggy summer afternoon at Arlington National Cemetery in 2006.
Ethan held his weapon, smudged and covered in rain, and presented it before his squad leader during a changing of the guard inspection.
The Soldier knew instantly that he made a grave mistake. âI was super scared,â Ethan said.
Soldiers considered such an act a cardinal sin for the sentinels who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier just outside of Washington, D.C. During training, sergeants at the Tomb drill into them perfection: creaseless uniforms, sharp cadences and spotless weapons in inspections.