Pete Hegseth presented an award and posed for photographs with the Army specialist who had reprimanded the secretary of war and his senior advisers after they were heard laughing during a Veterans Day ceremony.
The incident followed a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday. After honoring US veterans, Hegseth, his wife Jennifer, chief of staff Ricky Buria and two other senior advisers paused for a group photograph.
Once the picture was taken, the group began walking away. Laughter could be heard as they left the memorial.
An Army member of the Old Guard, assigned to protect the tomb, immediately called out to Hegseth and the others, ordering them to observe the solemnity of the site, which commemorates an unidentified World War I soldier.
‘All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times!’ the US Army sentinel shouted after hearing the group laughing.
The episode drew widespread criticism online and in the media, with many accusing Hegseth’s group of showing poor decorum. Soon afterward, the Pentagon publicly commended the soldier for enforcing the rules.
‘We love soldiers. We love standards. Well done, Specialist. Carry on Patriots,’ Hegseth wrote on social media Thursday, sharing photographs with the soldier who had demanded silence the previous day.
The photographs show Hegseth in his Pentagon office presenting Specialist Thomas Iglesias with a Joint Service Commendation Medal and shaking his hand.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth presents Specialist Thomas Iglesias with the Joint Service Commendation Medal after Iglesias instructed the secretary, his wife and senior advisers to remain silent and respectful at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday
‘All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times!’ Iglesias shouted at Hegseth’s group after someone began laughing at the memorial
Hegseth was accompanied by his wife, Jennifer Hegseth, pictured above, when the group was told to remain quiet
A Pentagon spokesperson said Iglesias received the medal ‘for the execution of his duties’ while serving at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said Wednesday evening that the soldier had ‘correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum.’
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other officials were also present for the ceremony.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is regarded as one of the nation’s most prominent military memorials.
The monument serves as the final resting place of an unidentified American service member killed during World War I.
Since 1948, soldiers from the Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard, have guarded the tomb every day, whatever the weather.
The day before the cemetery ceremony, Hegseth held a rare Pentagon press briefing to denounce an unsuccessful attempt to impeach him.
The resolution, introduced by outgoing anti-Trump Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, accused Hegseth of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors.’ It also alleged that he had kidnapped a foreign leader and disregarded laws intended to reduce civilian casualties.
After the incident, Hegseth invited several members of the US Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard, to his Pentagon office
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Iglesias had ‘correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum’
‘What one disgruntled and defeated congressman is attempting is not oversight, and it’s not accountability,’ Hegseth said during Tuesday’s briefing. ‘It’s a political spectacle.’
‘That’s what it is: policy disagreements, not high crimes, not misdemeanors, not treason, not bribery, not the kinds of offenses the founders intended when they wrote the impeachment clause.’