TO SEE A PICTURE.Who is the Unknown Soldier? Father of a boy in North Carolina, son of a woman in Vermont, brother of a man in California, husband of a woman in Kansas - the list could go on forever for those who have lost their loved ones and who still today do not know where they lie.
At Arlington National Cemetery, a tomb of an unknown soldier for every war in American History can be found with the exception of one from the American Revolution. The official Tomb of the Unknown for the American Revolution is located in Alexandria, Virginia, in the burial grounds of the Presbyterian Meeting House.
The most famous Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is located on the East Plaza of the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. There lies an unknown soldier from the wars and conflicts of the 20th century: World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam Conflict.
World War I
World War II & The Korean Conflict
Vietnam
Tomb Guard
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In 1920, the British interred an unknown soldier from World War I at Westminster Abbey, to symbolically represent in a place of supreme honor, those who had perished serving their country. Simultaneously, the French were honoring a native son across the water at the Arc de Triomphe.
Shortly after the 1920 presidential election on March 4, 1921, legislation was sponsored by Congressman Hamilton Fish of New York to authorize the return of an Unknown American Soldier from Europe for burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Since American involvement in World War I was only for one year, 99 percent of the casualties were positively identified and buried in marked graves. However, 1,237 soldiers from the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), were unidentifiable. Four bodies were selected for consideration, all of which had no records as to rank, date of death, or name. These bodies came from four cemeteries: Aisne-Maine, Meuse-Argonne, Somme, and St. Mihiel.
The four candidates were assembled at Chalon-sur-Maine and were considered by Sgt. Edward F. Younger, Headquarters Co., 2nd Battalion, 50th Infantry. Younger made his selection by placing a single white rose on the coffin. The World War I Unknown Soldier was sent to Le Harve where the casket was placed aboard the U.S.S. Olympia. The remaining unselected remains were buried at Argonne American Military Cemetery. The unknown soldier arrived at the Navy Yard, Washington D.C., on November 9, 1921, and the casket was escorted to the United States Capitol by General of the Armies, John J. Pershing, where it lay in state in the Rotunda until November 11th.
On the morning of November 11th, the nationally declared Armistice Day, the casket was escorted by a horse-drawn caisson to Arlington National Cemetery. President Warren G. Harding and Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court ,William Howard Taft, accompanied the funeral procession. Former president Woodrow Wilson participated even though he was from suffering the effects of a stroke.
After giving the eulogy, President Harding awarded the Unknown Soldier with the U.S. Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross, which are the nation's two highest decorations for valor. Shortly before the Unknown Soldier was buried, a final honor was given by the chief of the Crow Nation, Plenty Coups, representing all native Americans. He placed upon the sarcophagus his coup stick and an ancient headdress which had been with his tribe for generations.
In 1926, architect Lormier Rich designed a more elaborate and suitable monument. A 50-ton block of marble from Colorado was positioned on the original structure and was sculpted by Thomas Hudson Jones. On the front of the shrine are three figures representing Peace, Victory and Valor. On the opposite side, the inscription reads:
World War II & The Korean Conflict
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When World War II ended in 1945, formal plans were made to inter an Unknown Soldier from that war on Memorial Day, 1951, at Arlington National Cemetery. However, in 1950, after the massive invasion of South Korea by communist forces, the ceremony plans were delayed. A cease fire with Korea was arranged three years later in 1953. Congress then authorized the entombing of two unknown servicemen at Arlington National Cemetery representing World War II and the Korean Conflict respectively.
Since World War II was fought in two different theaters, two World War II candidates were chosen, one from the Pacific Theater and one from the Europe/North Africa Theater. These bodies were brought together, made indistinguishable, and one was selected as the Unknown Serviceman from World War II.
Off Hampton Roads in Virginia on May 26, 1958, the ship, U.S.S. Boston, carrying an unknown soldier from the Korean Conflict, rendezvoused with the U.S.S. Blandy, carrying the unknown soldier candidate from Europe/North Africa. Later these two bodies were transferred to the U.S.S. Canberra which was carrying the unknown soldier candidate from the Pacific area.
The Korean Conflict's Unknown Serviceman was placed in between the two World War II unknown candidates. The selection of the World War II unknown was made by Private First Class Willia R. Charrette, United States Navy, on board the U.S.S. Canberra. The candidate from World War II who was not selected was buried at sea.
The Korean and World War II Unknown Servicemen were transferred to the U.S.S. Blandy which docked at Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., on May 27, 1958. On Memorial Day, May 20th, the two caskets were placed on two caissons and were escorted to Arlington National Cemetery. President Eisenhower did not deliver an address, but did present the Medal of Honor to each of the Unknown Servicemen. Then the bodies were carried to the plaza, and buried later that evening with memorial stones being placed over the crypts.
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The 1960s was a time of change in the world, especially in the United States. With the Civil Rights Movement, the emerging popularity of Rock & Roll, and the sexual revolution, the power of the people was to be heard through marches, protests, and petitions.
One overriding concern of the youth of the '60s was the Vietnam Conflict. The first involvement of the United States in Vietnam was in the mid-fifties when the U.S. supported the French in the fight to keep Vietnam a French Colony. Involvement was light, so when the French lost, it was not a big issue with U. S. citizens. When the Vietnamese began to turn to Communism, however, the United States became very concerned . Vietnam spilt into two parts, the North being pro-Communist, and the South anti-Communist. Early U.S. involvement concerned training the South Vietnamese in warfare tactics, though eventually there were more then 500,000 United States troops fighting a conflict that seemed to have no end. In the late 60s and early 70s President Richard Nixon began troop withdrawal, and for the United States, the conflict ended in 1973.
Later in 1973, when the United States had completely withdrawn from Vietnam, Congress authorized the internment of an unknown soldier from the Vietnam Conflict and the process to choose an unknown soldier began, though selection was not as easy as originally thought. As improvements in the medical technology of identifying bodies became more advanced, the only unidentifiable ones were those who were missing in action. It was not until more than a decade later that an unknown soldier was classified as unidentifiable. The official announcement that an unknown soldier was found was made on April 17, 1984, by Secretary of Defense, Casper Wienberger, and ceremonies were planned for Memorial Day of that year.
For the first time in the history of the unknown soldier tradition, there was no selection process needed to decide who the soldier would be. So in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on May 17, U.S. Medal of Honor recipient, U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Major Allan Kellogg, placed a wreath on the casket of the Vietnam Soldier, officially selecting him as the Vietnam Unknown Soldier. The casket was then placed on a Navy ship for transportation to Washington, D.C., where it was placed in the Capitol building for public viewing over the Memorial Day weekend. More than 250,000 people visited the casket to pay their respects.
On May 28, 1984, the Vietnam Unknown Soldier was placed on a caisson for transportation to Arlington National Cemetery. The caisson stopped only once briefly in front of the Vietnam Memorial built for the 50,000 people who lost their lives in the Vietnam Conflict. On the way across Memorial Bridge, a group of veterans from the Vietnam Conflict dressed in fatigues, stepped in at the end of the parade, and continued up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where ceremonies began. President Ronald Reagan gave a eulogy to the Unknown Soldier, who was buried between the World War II and the Korean Conflict Unknown Soldiers, directly in front of the World War I Unknown Soldier with the dates 1958-1975 inscribed on the white crypt cover.
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The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier honors the unknown servicemen who have fallen in the four major U.S. Conflicts of the 20th Century: World War I, World War II, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam Conflict. In 1926, the tomb was placed under a day guard during the hours which the cemetery was open to visitors, but in 1937, the tomb was placed under a 24-hour military honor guard. The responsibility of the guarding of the tomb was taken over by the Third United States Infantry, "The Old Guard" in 1948, and the practice continues today.
To be a tomb guard takes skill, an impeccable military record, and most importantly, a strong desire to be part of "The Old Guard." There is also the physical requirement of being at least six feet tall. Most prospective guards are recruited from near-by Fort Myer and must go through an intense interview process before being considered a possible sentinel. Once accepted, the trainees go through a two-week period of intense training at night where they rotate one hour marching with one hour off. During the hour off, they undergo training to learn the history of the unknown soldier and Arlington National Cemetery. The trainees must also polish their brass, their shoes, clean their rifles, and make sure that everything is perfect. Otherwise mistakes and failures count against them in their evaluations. Until recently, trainees who made mistakes had to do 21 push-ups for the unknown soldier, but now are disciplined in a variety of other ways. If, after their two-week training period they pass inspection on their knowledge and skills, they are placed on a regular rotation schedule for guarding the tomb.
After nine months of being on guard, the sentinels are evaluated once again. If they pass those tests, they receive the prestigious Tomb Guard Badge. After twelve months of honorable service, the Tomb Guards are allowed to wear the Tomb Guard Badge on their uniform for the rest of their military careers. Less than 400 sentinels, in the 48 years the Third Infantry has been guarding the tomb, have received permanent orders for the Tomb Guard Badge.
The responsibility of the Tomb Guard is to protect the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. During daylight hours, sentinels march for one hour shifts, and at night, two hour shifts. The duty is 24 hours on, 24 hours off, 24 hours on, and 24 hours off. During that shift they are to stay in the Guard's quarters located under the Memorial Amphitheater. After each shift, they have four days off, with two of those days spent in training.
While guarding, the sentinels remain under complete concentration, marching twenty-one steps, turning to face the tomb for twenty-one seconds, turning to walk twenty-one steps back down the 63 foot black mat which is replaced every Memorial Day. The twenty-one steps and twenty-one seconds are meant to reflect the highest military tribute, the twenty-one gun salute.
To be a guard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is the highlight of one's military career and takes enormous skill, knowledge, and desire. One of the most important things that a sentinel must learn is the Sentinel's Creed. The Creed expresses all the values and desires of the Guard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Sergeant Heather Johnsen, the first female sentinel to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
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