INTERVIEW – SEN. TOM COTTON (R-Arkansas) – author of new book “’Sacred Duty: A Soldier’s Tour at Arlington Cemetery‘”
- Sen. Cotton tells story of serving with ‘The Old Guard’ at Arlington National Cemetery. (Fox News) – Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., says one of his biggest honors in life was serving in the Army with “The Old Guard” as a funeral escort at Arlington National Cemetery. Cotton was a member of the Army’s elite ceremonial unit between tours of duty as an infantry officer in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was elected to the Senate in 2014. “If I wasn’t in Iraq or Afghanistan leading troops in combat, I can’t think of anything more meaningful than serving at Arlington National Cemetery with The Old Guard, honoring our nation’s fallen heroes and everything that means to America,” he said. Cotton’s new book is “’Sacred Duty: A Soldier’s Tour at Arlington Cemetery.’” The Old Guard is the nickname for the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, the oldest active-duty infantry unit in the Army. The unit’s beginnings date back to 1784. “The story of The Old Guard is kind of the story of America as a nation,” Cotton said. The senator said that one Arlington funeral in particular that he remembers escorting was the funeral for 12 Americans who were killed in 2007 when a Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in Iraq.
