#tomb of the unknown soldier
Emmanuel Macron of France went to Arlington on Veterans Day to lay a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Our own president couldn’t be bothered, because it was raining.
Merci bien, M Macron.
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Obit of the Day (Historical): Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (1921)
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers (also called The Tomb of the Unknowns) was dedicated on November 11, 1921 with a funeral and internment of the body of an unidentifiable serviceman killed on the battlefields of France during World War II.
Following the lead of England and France, the United States Congress passed a bill on March 4, 1921 establishing a tomb for an “unknown soldier.” On Memorial Day of that year four bodies were exhumed from four different WWI battlefields. After all precautions were taken to ensure that the soldiers were American and completely unidentifiable, U.S. Army Sgt. Edward F. Younger, a WWI veteran was given the honor of selecting the body that would be entombed.
On October 24, Sgt. Younger made the selection in an elaborate ceremony with representatives of France and the U.S. in attendance. The four caskets were placed in a room and Sgt. Younger approached them, circled the display twice and placed a small bouqet of roses on the casket third from the left. He then saluted. The first unknown soldier was selected.
The soldier’s remains were transported by ship and arrived in the United States on November 9, 1921. Two days later, the body, now in Washington, D.C., was honored with a procession through the city, carried on a horse-led caisson, draped in the U.S. flag and escorted by veterans of WWI. President Harding, Vice-President Coolidge, and countless other dignitaries walked behind the casket as it traveled up Pennsylvania Avenue.
President Harding spoke at the official funeral ceremony and the soldier was honored with the U.S. Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross. Delegations representing U.S. allies in the war also presented the soldier with the highest military honors they could bestow: Belgian Croix de Guerre, English Victoria Cross, French Medaille Militaire & Croix de Guerre, Italian Gold Medal for Bravery, Romanian Virtutes Militara, Czechoslavak War Cross, and Polish Virtuti Militari.
The Unknown Soldier of World War I would remain alone for 36 years until he was joined by the unknown soldiers of World War II and Korea on May 30, 1958 in a ceremony led by President Dwight Eisenhower. Another quarter-century later on Memorial Day 1984 President Ronald Reagan spoke at the burial of an unknown soldier from the Vietnam War. (Using DNA, the Vietnam soldier was identified in 1998 as Air Force 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie. He was disinterred and reburied by his family. The Vietnam section of the tomb remains empty. DNA has also made it unlikely any other soldiers will be buried in the tomb.)
The tomb is under constant surveillance by the Tomb Guards, members of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, who are stationed in Fort Meyers, Virginia. The position is highly sought after and has such a stringent selection process that it has become the second most difficult qualification badge to earn in the military - after astronaut.
Note: The guards where no rank insignia so they will not outrank the soldiers buried in the tomb.
The President of the United States honors those entombed annually with a ceremony and wreath-laying every Memorial and Veterans Day.
Sources:Society of the Honor Guard of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,Arlington National Cemetery, and Wikipedia
Images from the parade, funeral, and internment of the original unknown soldier on November 11, 1921:
Top - Caisson passing down Pennsylvania Avenue during the funeral procession, 11/11/21, courtesy of the Old Guard Museum on Flickr
Middle - President Harding speaking at the funeral and internment of the unknown soldier, 11/11/21, courtesy of www.arlingtoncemetery.net
Bottom - Final internment of the casket of the unknown soldier, 11/11/21, courtesy of weta.org
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“Today, as we all know, is a very special day for all Americans. But to those of us who are veterans ourselves, it has a very special and added meaning,” President Ford said in his Veterans Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery in 1974. “Memories come back of families and old comrades–of distant days and places from the past. Some of those friends are still with us, sharing in the challenges of peace, just as they did their duty in wartime. Others we shall never see again. But they, especially, are here with us in spirit in the shadow of the Tomb of the Unknowns.”
This Veterans Day marks the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Learn more about the history of this iconic memorial through this new exhibit from the National Archives on Google Arts and Culture: https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/100th-anniversary-of-the-tomb-of-the-unknown-soldier/swISrH8agbdiKQ
Read President Ford’s speech cards for his 1974 Veterans Day remarks: https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0122/1252116.pdf
Image: President Gerald R. Ford and Major General Frederic Davison Saluting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during a Veterans Day Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, 10/28/1974 (National Archives Identifier 23869125, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/23869125)
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