Unfounded rumor claims Hegseth awarded medal to Tomb of the Unknown Soldier guard’s body double

 On Nov. 11, video footage captured a U.S. Army sentinel guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Virginia reprimanding Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his entourage after one of them talked and laughed out loud on the steps of the monument. The next day, Hegseth was photographed ostensibly awarding that same soldier a commendation medal in a Pentagon ceremony. 

Almost immediately, posts (archived) on X and Facebook popped up comparing images of the soldier taken at the tomb with one of Hegseth awarding him the medal in an apparent attempt to sow doubts it was the same person. 

People claimed the sentinel’s ears looked completely different in the two images and suggested the medal recipient was a body double. Several Snopes readers asked us if it was true Hegseth gave the medal to a doppelganger instead of the actual soldier. 

(X user @JamesTate121)

The argument, as summarized in one post, went as follows: 

Even though it’s not the same side ears, most pairs of ears are pretty symmetrical. The details of the ear of the guy he gave the comm medal to, claiming it was the soldier who reprimanded his group, is totally different shape and physical attributes.

If it were true that most pairs of human ears are symmetrical, the argument might stand, but researchers say perfectly symmetrical facial features are the exception, not the rule. When you add to that the differences contributed by angle, lighting and distance in photographs, arguing that the appearance of asymmetricality, especially in photographs, is definitive proof that a pair of ears don’t belong to the same person is bound to fail. 

In the above collage, a blurry image of one side of a soldier’s face is contrasted with a sharper frame from a video showing the other side of a soldier’s face, and it’s true they don’t seem very symmetrical. Does that mean both ears can’t belong to the same person? Not at all. Nor has any other evidence been offered to support the claim it isn’t the same man in both photographs. The claim is therefore unfounded.

Snopes contacted the Department of Defense to confirm the identity of the soldier. A spokesperson responded, “As shown in the photos, Secretary Hegseth welcomed the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, the Old Guard, to the Pentagon where he proudly awarded Specialist Thomas Iglesias the Joint Service Commendation Medal for the execution of his duties at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on November 11, 2026.”

As Snopes has previously reported, soldiers have guarded the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington since March 1926. The Arlington National Cemetery website states that the guards initially “discouraged visitors from climbing or stepping on the Tomb.” The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment has guarded the monument since April 6, 1948. Barbara Starr, CNN’s former Pentagon correspondent, told the network (at 11:24) on Nov. 11 that sentinels correct any visitors who do not act with “respect and silence” at the tomb.

For further reading, Snopes has investigated numerous claims about Hegseth. Snopes has also covered many “body double” claims over the years.

Sources