We can all relate to this Marine. After a thunderstorm came alarmingly close to Pennsylvania Avenue, this White House Marine sentry wasn’t sticking around long to find out where the next strike would hit.
Yesterday, C-SPAN captured a video of the Marine standing sentry in the middle of a bad storm outside the White House doors. Usually, this wouldn’t be a problem. These Marines guard the front doors no matter the weather, but sometimes, you have to draw the line. For this young serviceman, that was when a particularly deafening bit of thunder erupted above him. He flinched as the strike of lightning hit the ground before ever-so-formally relieving himself from his post and entering the building. We can’t blame him for leaving the scene. With how close that strike of lightning followed the thunder, the storm must have been pretty close by. However, even in a moment of fear, the Marine never broke from his mannerisms.
Already, the video has more than 5 million views on Twitter. Users found the White House Marine’s strict posture and procedure hilarious as he fled from the post. Take a look at the video below.
Not surprisingly, a few Twitter users took the opportunity to poke a little fun.
“The most professional ‘nope, I’m out’ the world will ever see,” one user wrote.
“Lightning struck a tree in our woods, less than 100 feet from my house a few weeks ago, and let me tell you, he kept his composure much better than I did,” shared another.
Fellow Marine Quickly Replaces Spot at Post Outside White House Doors
Of course, the lighthearted ribbing is all in good fun. Many users took the opportunity to thank the Marine for his service guarding the White House in the midst of tumultuous weather. Others commended him for seeking shelter and not exposing himself to unnecessary risk. There was even a bit of backlash on the original post for making light of the Marine’s job.
Despite the bit of controversy, another user decided to give the clip a bit of audio to add some context to what the White House Marine must have been thinking. The user named Joey Huston, a Desert Storm Army Vet himself, added the lyrics from Bishop Bullwinkle’s “Hell to Da Naw Naw” after the lightning hit the ground in the video. And if there’s anyone that can joke about the situation, it’s another service member.
Check out the remix below.
Despite the courteous exit, the White House was not left unguarded for very long. A few minutes later, another Marine quickly filled the position and remained outside while the rain continued to pour. Hopefully, though, there weren’t any other close calls with lightning strikes.
