You may have heard a story on Wednesday about Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for Veterans Day.
The story that was beamed out by many media outlets was that Hegseth and his group were laughing and were admonished by the sentinel on duty.
“All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times.” A guard reprimanded Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his aides after they could be heard laughing near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Veterans Day. MORE: https://t.co/1xoF6aTust https://t.co/HYbIc16WpU
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) November 12, 2026
BREAKING: Guard reprimands Pete Hegseth and guests for talking and laughing at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider after a photo op. https://t.co/pZcc9YD88c
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 11, 2026
Except that wasn't true. There was one laugh. Some of the stories said that you could not tell who laughed. But you could tell it was a woman, so it was obviously not Hegseth. So implying or claiming Hegseth laughed is just false. Of course, Democrats are trying to whip up a narrative against Hegseth to try to justify an impeachment.
I get folks on the Left have trouble with knowing what a woman is, but most of the rest of the world can tell. You can hear it here.
A group with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was reprimanded by a U.S. Army sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day after someone in the group appeared to laugh following a photo. “All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times,” the sentinel said. “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," Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. "While commemorating this solemn day, a soldier correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum.”
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 11, 2026
Now, she was wrong to do that. She may have thought that since they were leaving and almost up the stairs, it was okay. But that was wrong. Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell stood behind the soldier and said he correctly reminded everyone to maintain decorum.
But Hegseth showed why he was right for the job with how he responded to this incident. He just awarded the soldier who admonished the person laughing a medal and praised his actions.
We love soldiers. We love standards. Well done, Specialist. Carry on Patriots. https://t.co/Uk6ek6oOso
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 12, 2026
We love soldiers.
We love standards.
Well done, Specialist.
Carry on Patriots.
A Pentagon official confirmed that Hegseth welcomed the 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as The Old Guard, to the Pentagon “where he proudly awarded Specialist Iglesias the Joint Service Commendation Medal for the execution of his duties at the Tomb of the unknown Soldier on November 11, 2026.”
Good on Specialist Iglesias for doing his job, despite it being Hegseth's group. And that's exactly what Hegseth has been trying to encourage with the moves he has been taking to strengthen the military — standards and doing the job.
High integrity move here - well done Mr. Secretary.
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) November 12, 2026
Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and War Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.
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