1. Listen for 'sounds of freedom' on the Fourth @ noon, Fort Myer
Soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Presidential Salute Battery
will fire a 50-gun salute to the nation beginning at the stroke of noon, Friday, July 4
from Whipple Field, on the Fort Myer portion of Joint base Myer-Henderson Hall.
According to Army regulation, "in commemoration of the Declaration of
Independence, a salute to the Union (50 guns) will be fired at 1200 hours on
Independence Day at all Army installations provided with the necessary equipment for
firing salutes."
In 1810, the “National Salute” was defined by the War Department as equal to the
number of states in the Union. Today the Presidential Salute Battery fires 50 rounds,
beginning at noon on Independence Day to celebrate the nation’s history. This 4th of
July, the Presidential Salute Battery will fire the 75mm blank ceremonial shell with 1.5
pounds of powder. The salute takes about five minutes total, with one cannon firing
every five seconds.
The platoon is equipped with 10 M5, 75mm antitank cannons mounted on M6
howitzer carriages. Each gun weighs 5,775 pounds. The Presidential Salute Battery is
the only unit of its kind in the Army; its schedule includes more than 300 ceremonies
each year.