Standing tall at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

ARLINGTON, Va. — When Spc. Malachi Hamber walks out to relieve the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, he always draws attention. Standing at 6 feet, 9 inches tall, Hamber is the tallest current Tomb Guard soldier, and possibly the tallest soldier in the Guard’s history.

Because of his height, Guard changers crane their necks while inspecting Hamber before he takes his turn guarding the Tomb. While marching in front of the Tomb, he takes shorter steps to keep to the required 21 steps. When he serves as the changer, he must hold the Guard’s rifle lower so that it will be eye-level for them. Yet Hamber has made all the proper adjustments to make the Changing of the Guard a flawless operation.

Hamber first showed signs of his growing stature during the summer of fifth grade in Gahanna, Ohio. He entered middle school and found that he was taller than all his classmates.

“Every summer I seemed to grow three or four inches,” he said. “It was crazy.”

In high school, he tried out for the basketball team but didn’t sync with the players and coaches. Instead, he joined the volleyball team.

After graduating from high school, Hamber enlisted in the U.S. Army, like his father.

“My dad was in the Army my entire life, and I always looked up to him,” he said.

Hamber had other motivations for joining the Army. When he was 12, his parents could not afford to send him on his eighth-grade school field trip to Washington, D.C. Instead, he watched every video about the nation’s capital that he could find on YouTube. He came across a video of a Tomb Guard walking the mat, and the Guard’s discipline deeply impressed him.

“This is the coolest thing ever,” he recalled thinking. “He’s so discipled, it’s scary.”

Hamber never forgot what he saw. That video of the Tomb Guard “was my inspiration to join” the Army.

After basic training and six months of infantry training at then-Fort Benning, Georgia, Hamber joined the 3d. U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) at Fort Myer, Virginia, where he learned that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was on the other side of the wall.

“When I learned that, I was like ‘Oh my gosh, that’s here?’” The videos he watched as a kid had suddenly come to life. “I wanted to be a Tomb Guard more than anything.”

Hamber repeatedly applied to the highly competitive Tomb Guard Platoon. His persistence paid off when someone from the platoon called and told him to report to the next training cycle. Every night, he worked on his uniform to make it look perfect and studied Tomb Guard knowledge. During the day, he watched Guard changes. He even practiced his mat walk in the aisles at Safeway and Target.

While Hamber occasionally receives comments about his height, these reactions do not bother him.

“It’s nice to know they’re paying attention,” he said.

Despite any height-related challenges, the platoon is proud to have Hamber as a Tomb Guard.

“It’s a one-of-a kind opportunity to showcase not only his skills but the fact that we take people that tall at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” said Sgt. First Class Andrew Jay, the sergeant of the guard.

Hamber sees his duty as an opportunity to build trust and relationships with the American people and those of other nations.

“It builds a deeper meaning,” he said. “Every Memorial Day and Veterans Day, I’ll see people crying and praying at the Tomb, and I get a better understanding of what this place means to them.”