Day said he practiced for months, tolerated frozen fingers, woke up at 3 a.m. and waited an hour and a half before Biden arrived for the big moment. But he said when the moment finally did arrive, it was worth it.
" ‘Hail To The Chief’ was playing when I’m standing there at present arms,” he said. “It was the coolest feeling.”
Day began volunteering with the base Honor Guard while he was stationed in Germany. He became deeply involved and began to train other people. He became so involved he got several recommendations to train in Washington, D.C. with the rest of the Air Force Honor Guard, which is now his full-time job.
Day stood outside the White House, standing at arms with a rifle, during the ceremony welcoming Biden into the White House. Members of the ceremonial units of the Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy and Air Force all were part of welcoming Biden to the White House.
Day said he knew he would be in the 2021 inauguration when he was accepted into the Air Force Honor Guard full-time. He was disheartened to hear due to COVID-19 restrictions, many of the people who would have otherwise would have been a part would be cut from the ceremony. A supervisor put his name in over others, Day said, and he was able to be a part of the celebrations.
His mom, Tonya Day, was watching throughout the day from their family home in Riverside. His dad, James Day, was watching during breaks on his trucking route, Tonya Day said.
She said she wasn’t able to see Day on TV because the camera didn’t zoom out far enough. But after the moment passed, she started getting messages with her son’s photo.
“We were all just very excited and proud and it was an honor for him to be involved in something like that,” Tonya Day said. “He’s worked so hard throughout his Air Force career to get to this level to be able to do this.”
Day said he was part of ceremonial occasions with former President Donald Trump, but he had never been in something as big as an inauguration. It was a huge deal for him to be a part of that, he said.
Day enlisted in the Air Force in 2015. He said the Honor Guard was a place he wanted to end up.
“I’ve always been a patriotic person,” he said. “So I think that everyone knows that the Honor Guard is definitely my dream job.”
But it’s a job that he can only have for four or five years, he said. After his special duty assignment ends, he’ll return to his regular career field in the Air Force. For now, though, he’s looking forward to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, when he will be able to travel around the country and recruit more people into the Air Force.
“I always tell people they’re going to have to drag me kicking and screaming back to my regular job because I love the Honor Guard so much,” he said.
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