The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery's most iconic memorial, stands atop a hill overlooking Washington, D.C. The neoclassical, white marble sarcophagus depicts three carved Greek figures representing Peace, Victory, and Valor. Inscribed on the back of the Tomb are the words:

Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God The Tomb sarcophagus stands above the grave of the Unknown Soldier of World War I. To the west are the crypts for an Unknown Soldier from World War II and the Korean War. A white marble slab flush with the plaza marks each crypt.

The Unknown of World War I

On March 4, 1921, Congress approved the burial of an unidentified American soldier from World War I in the plaza of Arlington National Cemetery's new Memorial Amphitheater. The journey of the World War I Unknown to Arlington began in France in September 1921, when four American bodies were exhumed from unmarked battlefield graves. U.S. Army Sgt. Edward F. Younger (a World War I veteran who was wounded in combat and received the Distinguished Service Medal) selected the Unknown Soldier from among four identical caskets at city hall in Chalons-sur-Marne, France. Amid pomp and circumstance, the chosen casket was then transported to Washington, D.C. aboard the Navy cruiser USS Olympia. Those remaining in France were interred in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, one of several dozen foreign cemeteries operated by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

The World War I Unknown arrived in Washington on November 9, 1921 and lay in state at the Capitol Rotunda for two days. Some 90,000 visitors lined up to pay their respects. On Armistice Day (November 11) 1921, body bearers from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps transported the casket to a caisson for the large ceremonial procession to Arlington National Cemetery. At the Memorial Amphitheater, President Warren G. Harding officiated at a ceremony attended by over 5,000 people. The U.S. Marine Corps band played the national anthem, followed by the Army Chief of Chaplains' invocation and two minutes of silence. President Harding then addressed the crowd and placed the Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross on the casket. Foreign dignitaries added more medals. The ceremony then moved to the east front of the Amphitheater, where, as a battery cannon fired three salvos, the casket was lowered into the crypt. A bugler sounded Taps, followed by the battery firing a 21-gun salute. The Unknown Soldier was home.

In the following years, thousands of people flocked to Arlington National Cemetery to pay their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which soon came to symbolize the sacrifices of all American service members. While the Tomb drew many respectful mourners, it also became a tourist destination. Photographers stationed themselves by the Tomb and charged people to take their picture, and visitors left trash strewn around the site. In 1926, Congress established a military guard to protect the Tomb during daylight hours. Since midnight on July 2, 1937, the Army has maintained a 24-hour guard over the Tomb. Sentinels of the 3rd U.S. Infantry, "The Old Guard," assumed these duties on April 6, 1948, maintaining a constant vigil regardless of weather conditions.