ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, March 23, 1996               TAG: 9603250118
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A3   EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: ARLINGTON 
SOURCE: KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE

1ST WOMAN GUARDS TOMB OF UNKNOWNS

FOR MANY YEARS, women could not serve on the honor squad because the Third Infantry Division that does the job is a combat unit.

Sgt. Heather Lynn Johnsen walked into history Friday morning, on a hallowed hillside overlooking Washington.

In crisp Army dress blues, pants with creases sharp enough to cut, Johnsen strode 21 precise steps behind the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery and turned to face the memorial with a sharp click of the heels of her shiny black shoes.

For Johnsen, that salute on a sunny spring morning marked the end of a long journey.

``There is no higher honor or greater honor. I can't think of anything greater to do for my country,'' she said earlier after receiving a sterling silver laurel-leaf honor guard badge.

After 388 men before her, Johnsen became the first woman to guard the tomb where four unknown combat victims are buried - one from World War I, one from World War II, one from the Korean War and one from Vietnam.

For many years, the Army would not permit women to serve on the honor squad because ``The Old Guard'' Third Infantry Division that does the job is a combat unit.

Two years ago, the secretary of the Army ruled that women could serve in the 25-member squad that guards the tomb in 24-hour shifts.

But until now, no woman has overcome the arduous hurdles placed before honor squad candidates.

Johnsen and the others on the squad have perfect military records, are at least 5 feet 10 inches tall, have completed arduous physical training and have committed large chunks of Arlington Cemetery history to memory.

For Johnsen, a 23-year-old native of Roseville, Calif., joining the squad has been like winning a wonderful new family.

When she paced the black mat behind the tomb on her first official march, Johnsen wore the Size 9 shoes given to her by Squad Leader Daniel Torrez.

``When coming here, I had to have real leather, male, low quarters, and we happened to wear the same size,'' Johnsen said. ``He exceeded what he had to do.''

Johnsen, who joined the Army in 1992, served as a military police officer in Korea and Fort Monmouth, N.J., before deciding to seek her new role after watching troops ``guarding the Unknowns.''

``I knew it was reachable,'' she said.

For some visitors Friday, Johnsen's first walk provided a little extra sparkle to a moving experience.

``I'm actually surprised that she's the first woman,'' said 13-year-old Julia Flumian of Charlotte, N.C. ``I can't believe it didn't happen sooner.''

LENGTH: Medium:   60 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:   AP Sgt. Michael Eddings inspects the rifle of Sgt. 
          Heather Lynn Johnsen of Roseville, Calif., prior to her guarding the
          Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.