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A brief timeline of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is Arlington National Cem- Amphitheater’s plaza.
etery’s most iconic memorial. The neoclassical, white marble sar- In October, four unidentified U.S. military personnel were ex-
cophagus stands atop a hill overlooking Washington, D.C., Since humed from four different American military cemeteries in France.
1921, it has provided a final resting place for one of America’s The caskets arrived at the city hall of Châlons-sur-Marnes, France,
unidentified World War I service members. Unknowns from later on Oct. 23. The following day, Sgt. Edward F. Younger of Head-
wars were added in 1958 and 1984. quarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 50th Infantry, American Forces
Through the ages, one of the consequences of warfare has been in Germany, received the honor of selecting which one of the four
large numbers of unidentified dead. Unidentified remains resulted would represent all World War I unidentified military personnel.
from poor recordkeeping, the damage that weapons of war in- Sgt. Younger selected the Unknown by placing a spray of white
flicted on bodies, or the haste required to bury the dead and mark roses on one of the caskets.
gravesites. In recognition of these sacrifices, the Tomb has served On Oct. 25, 1921, the Unknown Soldier departed from Le Havre,
as a place of mourning and a site for reflection on military service. France aboard the USS Olympia — Admiral George Dewey’s sto-
Here is a brief timeline of the Tomb’s first 100 years.
ried flagship from the Spanish-American War. The Olympia arrived
1920: Honoring the Fallen Arlington National Cemetery photograph at the Washington Navy Yard on Nov. 9, 1921. On Nov. 10, the cas-
ket lay in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, and more than 90,000
During World War I, our allies France and Great Britain did not Internment of the unknown Soldier. 1921
return the remains of their fallen servicemen. Instead, to ease the mourners came to pay their respects.
grief of their citizens, France and Great Britain each repatriated On Nov. 11, 1921, the Unknown was placed on a horse-drawn
and buried one unknown soldier on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1920. caisson and carried in a large ceremonial procession through Wash-
The United States, by contrast, did repatriate bodies at the request ington, D.C., and across the Potomac River to Arlington National
of service members’ families, if the remains could be identified. Cemetery. At Memorial Amphitheater, President Warren G. Harding
Unidentified remains, however, were not repatriated. See UKNOWN, Page 12
In December 1920, New York Congressman and World War I
veteran Hamilton Fish Jr. proposed legislation that provided for the
repatriation and interment of one unknown American soldier at a
special tomb to be built at Arlington National Cemetery; this single
unknown would represent all unidentified and missing American
service members from World War I. The purpose of the legislation
was “to bring home the body of an unknown American warrior
who in himself represents no section, creed, or race in the late war
and who typifies, moreover, the soul of America and the supreme
sacrifice of her heroic dead.”
1921: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Is Established
National Archives photograph On March 3, the United States Congress approved the burial of an Library of Congress photograph
A Gold Star mother visits a soldier’s grave at Seresnes American unidentified American serviceman from World War I, and President To prevent visitors from disrespecting the Tomb, the Army
Cemetery, west of Paris, France, sometime between 1930 and enclosed it within a fence. A civilian guard was added in 1925
1931. Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Congressional Joint Resolu- and a military guard in 1926.
tion the next day. The tomb would be constructed on the Memorial

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