Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal to Army Spc. Thomas Iglesias after Iglesias urged visitors to observe quiet near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Iglesias was on duty at the memorial after a Veterans Day event on Nov. 11, CBS News reported. Hegseth presented the medal at the Pentagon on Thursday. A Pentagon official told CBS the award recognized Iglesias’ actions at the tomb that day. Hegseth met with members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard, which guards the tomb.
CBS News reported that footage showed Hegseth and others in his party taking photographs near the memorial before laughter was heard. Iglesias then addressed the visitors, according to the report. Hegseth later posted photos of the medal presentation on X and wrote, “We love soldiers. We love standards.”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Iglesias’ intervention was appropriate and respectful during the observance. A member of the regiment told the Army in a 2022 interview that sentinels respond to crowd behavior two or three times a day, CBS News reported.
