Page 9 - Desert Lightning News, Nellis-Creech AFB Edition, November 5, 2021

8 DESERT LIGHTNING NEWS S. NEVADA Photo Feature November 5, 2021 9
www.aerotechnews.com/nellisafb Facebook.com/NellisDesertLightningNews

A brief timeline of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier F. Younger of Headquarters Company, civilian guard to begin daily duty at the D. Eisenhower signed a bill to select and Korean War were interred in the plaza the remains from the Vietnam War Un- original inscription of “Vietnam” has been
is Arlington National Cemetery’s most 2nd Battalion, 50th Infantry, American Tomb in response to increasing reports of honor unknown service members from beside their World War I comrade. known’s crypt on May 14, 1998. changed to “Honoring and Keeping Faith
iconic memorial. e neoclassical, white Forces in Germany, received the honor visitors’ disrespectful behavior. World War II and the Korean War. ey In accordance with the wishes of his with America’s Missing Servicemen”—
marble sarcophagus stands atop a hill of selecting which one of the four would would be buried in crypts adjacent to the 1961: Sentinel Milestone family, Blassie was reinterred at Je erson a reminder of the commitment of the
overlooking Washington, D.C., Since represent all World War I unidenti ed original Tomb. Specialist 4th Class Fred Moore was Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Armed Forces to the fullest possible ac-
1921, it has provided a nal resting place military personnel. Sgt. Younger selected selected as a Tomb Guard, becoming the Mo. counting for missing service members.
for one of America’s unidenti ed World the Unknown by placing a spray of white rst African American posted and earn-
War I service members. Unknowns from roses on one of the caskets. ing the prestigious Tomb Guard identi -
later wars were added in 1958 and 1984. On Oct. 25, 1921, the Unknown Soldier cation badge.
rough the ages, one of the conse- departed from Le Havre, France aboard Library of Congress photograph
quences of warfare has been large num- the USS Olympia — Admiral George Workers place the fifty-ton marble
bers of unidenti ed dead. Unidenti ed Dewey’s storied agship from the Spanish- sarcophagus in place atop the Unknown
remains resulted from poor recordkeep- American War. e Olympia arrived at Soldier from World War I, in December of
ing, the damage that weapons of war the Washington Navy Yard on Nov. 9, Library of Congress photograph 1931.
in icted on bodies, or the haste required 1921. On Nov. 10, the casket lay in state First permanent guard at the Tomb of the
to bury the dead and mark gravesites. In in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, and more Unknown Soldier, March 25, 1926. 1932: Tomb Construction Completed
recognition of these sacri ces, the Tomb than 90,000 mourners came to pay their On April 9, 1923, the completed Tomb Army photograph by Elizabeth Fraser
has served as a place of mourning and a respects. 1926: Civilian Guard Replaced by Mili- was unveiled. e marble sarcophagus Arlington National Cemetery Historical Research photograph Snow falls on Arlington National Cemetery
site for re ection on military service. tary Guard features elaborate carvings of wreaths and Naval History & Heritage Command photograph In a ceremony on May 14, 1998, the as Tomb Sentinel continues 24 hour watch,
Here is a brief timeline of the Tomb’s In March 1926, soldiers from nearby three neoclassical figures representing Hospital Corpsman 1st Class William R. National Archives photograph Department of Defense disinterred the Arlington, Va., Dec. 9, 2017.
rst 100 years. Fort Myer were rst assigned to guard Peace, Victory and Valor. On the side fac- Charette selects the World War II Unknown President Ronald Reagan participates in a Vietnam War Unknown, after reexamining
the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. e ing Memorial Amphitheater, its inscrip- Soldier (right). In the center is the Korean War Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony at evidence related to his possible identity.
1920: Honoring the Fallen guards, present only during daylight tion reads, “Here Rests in Honored Glory Unknown Soldier; on the left, the second Arlington National Cemetery, May 31, 1982. He was then positively identi ed as U.S. Air
During World War I, our allies France hours, discouraged visitors from climbing an American Soldier Known but to God.” unknown World War II serviceman, May 26, Force 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie. In 1999, the
and Great Britain did not return the re- or stepping on the Tomb. 1958. 1984: Honoring the Vietnam War Un- empty crypt was rededicated to honor all
mains of their fallen servicemen. Instead, On July 3, 1926, Congress authorized 1937: 24-Hour Guard Duty Begins known missing American service members from the
to ease the grief of their citizens, France the completion of the Tomb. E ective July 1, 1937, the Army issued 1958: Unknowns of World War II and During the Vietnam War era, advances Vietnam War era.
and Great Britain each repatriated and orders for the Tomb to be guarded 24 the Korean War Interred in science and technology made identi -
buried one unknown soldier on Armistice Arlington National Cemetery photograph hours a day. Ever since then, the Tomb of To represent World War II, the Army cation of the dead increasingly accurate.
Day, Nov. 11, 1920. e United States, by Internment of the unknown Soldier. 1921 the Unknown Soldier has been guarded chose 18 unidenti ed bodies from North By May 1984, only one set of recovered
contrast, did repatriate bodies at the re- continuously — 24 hours a day, 7 days a Africa, Europe, the Philippines and Ha- American remains had not been fully Army photograph by Elizabeth Fraser
quest of service members’ families, if the On Nov. 11, 1921, the Unknown was week, regardless of weather. waii. From these 18, two were chosen for identi ed. ese remains were designated Sentinels from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment
remains could be identi ed. Unidenti ed placed on a horse-drawn caisson and final selection — one from the Pacific as the Unknown Soldier from the Viet- (The Old Guard) stand guard and conduct
remains, however, were not repatriated. carried in a large ceremonial procession 1948: e “Old Guard” eater and one from the Transatlantic nam War. On Memorial Day 1984, an the changing of the guard at the Tomb of
In December 1920, New York Congress- through Washington, D.C., and across Since April 6, 1948 (known then as eater. On May 26, 1958, Hospital Corps- Army caisson carried the Vietnam War the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National
man and World War I veteran Hamilton the Potomac River to Arlington National “Army Day”), the Tomb has been guarded man 1st Class William R. Charette, an Unknown from the U.S. Capitol to Memo- Cemetery, Arlington, Va., May 6, 2021.
Fish Jr. proposed legislation that provided Cemetery. At Memorial Amphitheater, by soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 3rd In- enlisted Navy sailor and Medal of Honor rial Amphitheater at Arlington National
for the repatriation and interment of one President Warren G. Harding spoke at Library of Congress photograph fantry Regiment, “ e Old Guard.” e recipient, made the nal selection aboard Cemetery, where President Ronald Reagan TODAY:
unknown American soldier at a special the state funeral ceremony and placed the Secretary of War Dwight F. Davis (left) and Old Guard is posted to Fort Myer, Va., the USS Canberra. Meanwhile, four un- presided over the interment ceremony and Today, the Defense POW/MIA Ac-
tomb to be built at Arlington National Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest mili- Maj. Gen. B.F. Cheatham, quartermaster adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery. identi ed bodies from the Korean War bestowed the Medal of Honor. counting Agency continues the work to
Cemetery; this single unknown would tary decoration, on the casket. Numerous general of the U.S. Army, with the winning It is considered one of the highest honors were disinterred from the National Me- recover and identify missing U.S. military
represent all unidentified and missing foreign dignitaries presented their nations’ design and model for the Tomb of the to serve as a Sentinel at the Tomb of the morial Cemetery of the Paci c in Hawaii. personnel from all past wars and con icts
American service members from World awards as well. Nationwide, Americans Unknown Soldier in 1928. Unknown Soldier. Army Sgt. Ned Lyle chose one to become in countries around the world. Accord-
War I. e purpose of the legislation was observed two minutes of silence at the the Korean War Unknown. ing to DPAA’s records, more than 1,500
“to bring home the body of an unknown beginning of the ceremony, and thousands 1928: Final Design Approved e caskets of the World War II and Americans remain unaccounted for
American warrior who in himself repre- watched as the Unknown was interred in In December 1928, architect Lorimer Korean War Unknowns arrived in Wash- DOD photograph from the Vietnam War. It is unlikely that
sents no section, creed, or race in the late the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Rich and sculptor omas Hudson Jones, ington on May 28, 1958, where they lay Photograph courtesy of The Society of the Honor Guard Roses are placed at the base of the empty another unknown will ever be added to
war and who typi es, moreover, the soul At the time, the Tomb was not yet both World War I veterans, won a nation- in state in the Capitol Rotunda until the Heather Lynn Johnsen (Wagner) became Vietnam Unknown Crypt where the the Tomb.
of America and the supreme sacri ce of complete. A crypt was created for the wide design competition to design the morning of May 30. Reprising the events the first female to earn the Tomb Guard inscription reads “Honoring and Keeping
her heroic dead.” funeral, with the intention that the rest of completed Tomb. Over seventy designs of 1921, a large ceremonial procession Identi cation Badge. Faith with America’s Missing Servicemen
the Tomb would subsequently be created. were submitted. then escorted their caissons to Arlington 1958-1975”. The inscription on the crypt was
1921: e Tomb of the Unknown Soldier National Cemetery. President Eisenhower 1996: Sentinel Milestone dedicated during the National Prisoner Of
Is Established awarded each the Medal of Honor, and Sergeant Heather Lynn Johnsen be- War/Missing In Action Recognition Day at
On March 3, the United States Con- the Unknowns of World War II and the came the rst woman to earn the presti- Arlington National Cemetery, Washington,
gress approved the burial of an unidenti- gious Tomb Guard identi cation badge. D.C., on Sept. 17, 1999.
ed American serviceman from World
War I, and Woodrow Wilson signed into Photograph courtesy of the Eisenhower Library and Museum 1998: Identi cation of the Vietnam 1999: Redesignation of the Vietnam
law the Congressional Joint Resolution the Eisenhower signing of HR7786, June 1, 1954, War Unknown War Crypt
next day. e tomb would be constructed Library of Congressphotograph this ceremony changed Armistice Day to For almost 14 years, the Vietnam War e crypt designated for the Vietnam
on the Memorial Amphitheater’s plaza. To prevent visitors from disrespecting the Veterans Day. Alvin J. King, Wayne Richards, Unknown lay at rest at the Tomb. In 1994, War Unknown remains vacant. On Sept.
In October, four unidenti ed U.S. mili- Tomb, the Army enclosed it within a fence. Arthur J. Connell, John T. Nation, Edward Ted Sampley, a POW/MIA activist, deter- 17, 1999 — National POW/MIA Recogni-
tary personnel were exhumed from four A civilian guard was added in 1925 and a Rees, Richard L. Trombla, Howard W. Watts. mined that the remains were likely those tion Day — it was rededicated to honor all
di erent American military cemeteries military guard in 1926. National Archives photograph Army photograph of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie. missing U.S. service members from the
in France. e caskets arrived at the city A Gold Star mother visits a soldier’s grave at 1956: Honoring the Unknowns of World U.S. Army Specialist 4th Class Fred Moore In 1998, DNA testing con rmed Blassie’s Vietnam War. e slab over the crypt that
hall of Châlons-sur-Marnes, France, on 1925: Daily Civilian Guard Established Seresnes American Cemetery, west of Paris, War II and the Korean War became the rst African American sentinel identity. At the request of Blassie’s fam- once held the remains of the Vietnam War
Oct. 23. e following day, Sgt. Edward On Nov. 17, 1925, the Army ordered a France, sometime between 1930 and 1931. On Aug. 3, 1956, President Dwight to guard the Unknown Soldier. ily, the Department of Defense exhumed Unknown has since been replaced. e