From a Chaplain who had served in Iraq

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

That's an interesting statement. Expected to be played again, rather than pick up where it left off? Because if interrupted it doesn't count? Or the military way is to start over as many times as necessary to get it right?

The answer to your question should have been self evident. The article states that the Marines finished the anthem. They could have started it over again; but, didn't. I've not heard of a protocol that requires them to do so. Playing the anthem over a sound system is a different matter. One may reasonably expect it to be difficult to pick up precisely where the interruption left off depending on the audio media and who's controlling it (those positions can be outsourced). Replaying the anthem was most likely just a practical solution. For a different perspective, from a similar situation during an Olympic US gold medal ceremony, read this short CBSSports.com wire report and pay particular attention to the first reply to the article.

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Maybe they started singing because they knew they were going to be standing at attention until it was finished, and since the person playing the recording screwed up, twice, they would take matters into there own hands, to git r done.

We don't know if it was operator error; or, equipment failure. I concur that someone commendably stepped forward to get the job done; but, that took only ONE Marine.

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

The fact that they all joined in, if not together, very quickly, shows a like mind set, or at least the ability react to the unexpected in unison. However, saying they did it out of respect for the brave men and women that fought and died before them, might be stretching it a bit.

It was primarily camaraderie and remembrance figures into that more than you probably realize. When I went through US Special Forces training, unit history was taught and it was testable knowledge. Unit lineage, key people, exceptional missions, and the sacrifices previous members made were included. I even had to memorize the name of the first Special Forces Medal of Honor recipient of the Vietnam conflict [Captain Donlon]. A good example of unit camaraderie spanning time might come from the day that I, a next generation SFer, had Easter dinner with Colonel Donlon (SAA, follow the link). Remind me to tell you about that sometime.