More than 300,000 white tombstones stand in rows surrounding the Tomb of the Unknowns, each representing a fallen soldier.

An armed guard walks 21 steps, turns, clicks his heels, pauses for 21 seconds and walks 21 steps back.

After an hour, a new guard comes out to replace him in the formal changing of the guard ceremony.

The guarding continues. 24 hours a day. 365 days a year.

This particular hour, though, a different guard approaches Jill Nilsen, vice president for external relations, and gives her instructions.

“The guard came to us and said, ‘This is what you need to do. When you come down the stairs, start on your left foot, when I say this, you put your hand over your heart,'” she said.

On Oct. 12, Nilsen participated in the wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.

“At the point that we actually put the wreath on the tomb and we stepped back, then “Taps” was played,” Nilsen said. “What an emotional moment to have “Taps” played in this very silent setting, very somber setting, and that was the time that tears welled up in my eyes as well as many other people’s that observed the ceremony.”

Nilsen was invited to lay a wreath on the tomb by Randy Bailey, an Eastern alumnus who graduated in 1978. Bailey’s company, Randy Bailey Companies, LLC, has participated in the ceremony three times in the past.

Any person or group of people traveling to Arlington can request permission to lay a wreath; the only cost is the wreath itself, which is $150.

“You write a letter to the base commander at Arlington National Cemetery,” Bailey said. “It’s a tremendous honor.”

Bailey sent Nilsen an e-mail this summer inviting her to participate in the ceremony.

“I understood she was retiring, and I knew she was the kind of person Eastern would want representing them,” Bailey said. “I feel like she represents what Eastern is all about.”

Nilsen will retire from the university at the end of the semester.

When she first accepted the invitation, Nilsen said she had no notion that she would be laying the wreath herself, along with three of Bailey’s employees.

“In the beginning of September, he e-mailed me and said, ‘I’m thrilled you’re coming, and, by the way, you’re one of the people that’s going to lay the wreath,'” Nilsen said. “I wrote him back and said, ‘Randy, I don’t want to do that. I’m just coming to be supportive and show you how much we appreciate what you’ve done as one of our alumni.’ He wrote back and said, ‘There’s no arguing. You are going to be one of the people that lay the wreath on the tomb.'”

Nilsen visits Washington, D.C., twice a year to meet with the Illinois Congressional Delegation, but this was her first visit to Arlington.

“As many times as I’ve been in D.C., I’d never been to Arlington, and I was not prepared for the overwhelming feeling of emotion as I walked through that cemetery,” Nilsen said. “As far as you can see are these white tombstones in these rows, and you recognize every one of these tombstones represents a person, and that person left a family, left children, a wife, parents, and you understand the great sacrifices so many families in this country have made to defend this country.”

She described the ceremony as being somber and respectful, a tone that fit well with the atmosphere of the cemetery.

“I feel very gratified to see the level of respect and decorum exhibited by all of the visitors shown,” Nilsen said. “It was really a quiet place, and there were many people there that day. During the ceremony, as people gathered for the changing of the guard ceremony and more and more people moved into that area, it was a very hushed, quiet environment.”

Nilsen had no idea what to expect from the cemetery visit.

“I was just . overwhelmed,” she said. “What you read in a book or on a Web site just did not compare at all to the actual experience. This definitely ranks up with me as one of the experiences I’ll always treasure from my time at Eastern.”

Sarah Ruholl can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].

Search continues for Nilsen’s replacement

The search for a vice president for university advancement is continuing. The new vice president will replace Jill Nilsen, vice president for external relations, after she retires on Dec. 31.

The position’s title was changed to better reflect its duties.

Blair Lord, vice president for academic affairs and provost, is heading the search committee. Background checks are being performed on potential candidates.

“We are progressing with the evaluations and screening with the object of recommending a short list of candidates for the president to consider having invited to campus,” Lord said.

The committee hopes to have candidates visit the campus in November and to have someone hired by the end of the semester.

“Theoretical timeline to get a person in here was Dec. 1,” Lord said. “That doesn’t seem real likely.”