Is there a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier camera? How a live feed could change America.

In May, I visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. As I stood among the spectators, I was struck by their respectful dignity, especially the youth – boys and girls so many decades younger than I am, standing reverently. I was also impressed by the diversity of those absorbing this somber scene on a pretty Virginia cemetery hillside overlooking the nation’s capital across the Potomac River.

We all watched in solemnity as a lone guard – known as a “sentinel” in this special, silent spot – slowly marched back and forth protecting the white-marble tomb. As we stood there in rapt attention, we saw two sentinels approach the tomb and witnessed the changing of the guard. We felt privileged to be part of this sacred ceremony honoring fallen Americans, especially those whose names are unknown.

Although significant numbers of Americans visit the cemetery each year, I felt regret that the vast majority of Americans for practical reasons will never have the opportunity to visit the tomb to see what I saw and to feel what I felt.

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I wished at that moment that everybody could witness this compelling ceremony and symbolism. And also, that everyone, me included, could fully realize a little-known aspect of guarding the tomb – that the sentinels are always on duty, always marching, even after the cemetery closes and no one else is around. All night in addition to all day, every day of the year! Even in a rainstorm! Even in a blizzard!

Then it hit me: There’s an easy way to accomplish these things and increase appreciation for the tomb. All that needs to be done is to provide streaming video of the sentinels guarding the tomb for viewing on televisions and monitors nationwide.

By showing a real-time feed via broadcast, cable and the Internet, all Americans, at whatever time they choose or happen across the video, can be impressed and inspired by this 24/7 ceremony. They can feel personal admiration for the sentinels, especially when they view these soldiers marching live in adverse weather conditions, including the powerful thunderstorms that recently ripped through the area.

For example, the feed could be made especially visible in public places such as schools, airports, arenas, theater lobbies and malls. This widespread and easy availability of the tomb and ceremony in the lives of busy Americans would engender increased pride in our nation’s values of shared opportunity and responsibility – and the overriding concept that freedom is not free.

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For immediate impact, I believe showing the real-time video in America’s elementary, middle and high schools would enrich students’ lives. The feed has the potential to improve the educational culture of these schools and inspire students to make better choices and take greater advantage of their educational opportunities in pursuit of hopeful and promising lives.

And imagine such a feed in a very bleak and unattractive place – prison! I correspond regularly with three inmates, and their isolated circumstances weigh heavily on my heart. Could not this feed make a dent in the insidious pull of recidivism? Inspire some inmate, somewhere, toward a better life beyond the bars of a lonely cell?

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I am in my 80th year and nearing the end of my mortal walk, and I don’t know where you are in yours. But I do believe we share in common a hope to leave our world a better place for our having been given the gift of life and freedom to follow our own personal “pursuits of happiness.” To further this hope, I invite you to support this proposal that we might live our lives as finer, healthier, happier and more grateful Americans.

Should this idea become reality, I envision the tomb and the ceremony thereof becoming as ever-present in our lives as the U.S. flag, which I consider a kind of heartbeat of America. The tomb with its symbolism would join in and strengthen that patriotic rhythm.

As you read this column, a sentinel guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. And so, a sentinel has marched since the mid-1920s, before nearly all of us were born. And so, a sentinel will continue to march – for as long as you live and for as long as our nation endures – a kind of “immortal walk” in honor of Americans who have fallen in service to our country to protect the freedoms we enjoy.

Please visit the Arlington National Cemetery website to learn more about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Tom Bold is from Charleston, South Carolina, and his family reside in Springfield, Virginia. Bold has more than 50 years of federal service. He began his career as a NASA management intern in 1969 and continues his career today with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.