A group of Wareham High School students got the honor of paying their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during an eighth-grade class trip to Washington, DC.

Four eighth-grade students who are JROTC cadets laid a wreath on the tomb alongside the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as "The Old Guard," who stands guard over the tomb twenty-four hours a day. The rest of the eighth-grade class looked on during the ceremony.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for the unidentified remains of several soldiers from World War I, World War II and the Korean War.

JROTC Senior Army Instructor Matt Stanton said the school “saw it as a tremendous honor” and as a “lifetime memory” for the cadets and the other on the trip.

Principal Scott Palladino reached out to the Old Guard and requested the honor. The Old Guard worked with the cadets to make sure their uniforms were in order and they understood what they had to do, Stanton said.

Stanton said the cadets were “very excited” and “nervous,” and that while he was not present himself in Washington, he heard the ceremony went well.