March 9, 2020, was the first day CQ Roll Call photojournalists captured images of a thing that has become salient in daily life — masks. Tourists one year ago arrived at the Capitol for a tour and were seen wearing masts in the above image in the Capitol Rotunda just days before states and municipalities began locking down due to the coronavirus.

Nearly one year later, National Guardsmen are some of the only people aside from members, reporters and staff who get to take in the beauty of the Rotunda and sit underneath the large painting of our country’s forefathers.

Below, three military personnel take a break in February from their duties guarding the Capitol after the Jan. 6 attack on the building. Troops remain deployed to this day.

Another image from March 9, 2020, shows the tourists in masks from another angle of the Rotunda.

Our photojournalists once again captured troops in that same spot, this time from January 2021.

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