The soldier who admonished Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s group for laughing after taking photos at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier after a Veterans Day ceremony was summoned to the Pentagon on Thursday and awarded a medal.
Hegseth posted photos of him pinning the Joint Service Commendation Medal on Spc. Thomas Iglesias’ chest and shaking his hand.
The Joint Service Commendation is awarded to “members of the Armed Forces who distinguish themselves by meritorious achievement or service while assigned to a joint military staff, activity, or agency,” according to the U.S. Army.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth awards a Joint Service Commendation, Nov. 12, 2026, to Spc. Thomas Iglesias, the soldier who scolded Hegseth’s group at Arlington Cemetery, Nov. 11, 2026 in a photo released on the X account of Hegseth.
@SecWar/X
The soldier was serving as a sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery when he barked a standard phrase to be silent to a group of people including Hegseth after they posed for a photo after a Veterans Day wreath-laying ceremony that included President Donald Trump.
The incident was captured on video and showed the group including Hegseth, his wife Jennifer and other officials posing for a photo on the steps in front of the tomb area. As the group broke up, someone can be heard laughing, which prompted the sentinel on duty to turn and admonish the group.
Standing at attention, the sentinel admonished the group, “All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times,” which is common to visitors who break decorum at the tomb, broadly hailed as some of the most sacred ground in the country.
Visitors to the cemetery are asked to “speak quietly so that your experience does not distract or disturb other visitors.” The sentinel’s command would be the same one issued to anyone who breaks decorum.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth awards a Joint Service Commendation, Nov. 12, 2026, to Spc. Thomas Iglesias, the soldier who scolded Hegseth’s group at Arlington Cemetery, Nov. 11, 2026, in a photo released on the X account of Hegseth.
@SecWar/X
All visitors at the area surrounding the tomb are expected to maintain a reverent silence while there. Sentinels, the ceremonial soldiers in formal dress uniforms patrolling the area, maintain a 24-hour watch at the tomb and strictly enforce that order.
The Pentagon’s top spokesman praised the soldier for doing his job after ABC News asked about the incident on Wednesday.
“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,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said. “While commemorating this solemn day, a soldier correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum.”
ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
