3 Marines Pass Out From Cold on White House Lawn

Three Marines passed out after standing at attention on the White House lawn this morning, “casualties” of a 5-degree wind-chill factor during arrival ceremonies for President Reagan’s favorite South American leader, Ecuadorean President Leon Febres Cordero.

Three unidentified women watching the ceremonies as part of the official party also fainted, the military coordinator of the ceremony said.

The Marines, members of the “President’s Own” band, stood off to the side as usual during such a ceremony but could not play their instruments for fear the brass instruments would freeze to their lips. The introductory military music and national anthems of the two countries were played on a tape recorder.

The Marines fainted while standing at attention and were carried by fellow musicians into a Secret Service guardhouse where they were revived.

Army Lt. Col. Tom Groppel, the military coordinator of the ceremony, said his attempts to warm up members of the band with portable heaters did not work.

Asked the condition of the three felled Marines, Groppel said: “Cold.”

To keep the ceremony brief, several songs were eliminated from the program. But Febres Cordero, who has been praised by Reagan as a champion of Democracy in Latin America, made an exceptionally long speech, keeping the ceremony to its planned 30-minute length.

The temperature was 22 degrees, with a 12-m.p.h. wind gusting to 29 m.p.h., and snow was falling during the ceremony.