The History of the Unknown Soldiers

(Part I)

The World War I Unknown

Four coffins were brought in to the City Hall of Chalons-sur-Marne, France. The four coffins contained Unknown soldiers, each from one of four military cemeteries in France (Belleau Wood, Bony, Thiaucourt and Romagne). The World War One Unknown was then chosen by Sergeant Edward F. Younger, of Chicago, Illinois, an awardee of the Distinguished Service Cross who was, upon his death, buried in Arlington National Cemetery (Section 18, Grave 1918-B). Sergeant Younger circled the caskets three times and stopped at the third casket from the left and placed a spray of white and pink roses. He then stood at attention and saluted the Unknown Soldier. The only words spoken at the ceremony were those of General Dubois, the Commander of the 6th Army Corps (French), who said, "The French Army feels deeply honored to pay a simple and loving tribute to the American Unknown soldiers." (Washington Star, 24 Oct 1921, as reported by the associated press.) The remaining three Unknown candidates were then returned to the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery in France. The Unknown that was selected was presented military awards from five countries. Lieutenant General Baron Jacques of Belgium presented the Unknown with the Belgium Croix de Guerre with palms and then took the Croix de Guerre from his own uniform and pinned it on the casket. Admiral Earl Beatty presented the Unknown with England's Victoria Cross. Marshal Foch, of France, presented the Unknown with the Medaille Militaire and the Croix de Guerre. The Romanian Minister, Prince A. Bibesco presented the Virutea Militara to the Unknown. The Italian Golden Medal of Valor (1 of 10) was presented by General Armando Diaz. Dr. Bedrich Stepanek, of Czechoslovakia presented his countries War Cross to the Unknown, and Prince Lumbamirski, the minister of Poland, presented the Virtuti Militari. The Medal of Honor from the United States was later presented to the Unknown. The World War One Unknown was transported to the United States aboard the U.S.S. Olympia, a cruiser which was the flag ship of Admiral Dewey during the Battle of Manila Bay. The U.S.S. Olympia's own flag ship was the destroyer U.S.S. Reuban James, which was the first ship sunk in World War II.

The World War One Unknown arrived in Washington D.C. on the 9th of November 1921 and the interment of the Unknown took place on the 11th of November 1921. The funeral for the World War One Unknown took place in the Memorial Amphitheater. Before the coffin was lowered to its resting place, a two inch layer of earth brought from France was placed below were the coffin was to lie so that the Unknown Soldier might rest forever on the soil on which he died.

The Tomb itself was not constructed until some time later. Seventy-three designs were submitted for consideration. The
Architect of the winning design was Mr. Lorimer Rich - F.A.I.A. (presently buried in Section 48 of Arlington National
Cemetary). The sculptor was Mr. Thomas Hudson Jones. The Stone Construction Superintendent was Mr. Frederick C. Greve
and the General Contractor was the Hageman-Harris Company. Some key dates for the construction of the Tomb of the
Unknowns are as follows:

• The 10th of December 1928 the present design, created by Lorimer Rich, was selected as the final.
• The 18th of April 1931 the Washington Daily News reported that the largest single piece of marble ever quarried in the United States had been brought out of Colorado by Vermont Marble. It weighed approximately fifty-six tons and was white Yule marble. The piece was fourteen feet long, seven feet wide and six feet deep. This piece of marble was to become the dye.
• The 26th of August 1931 a wooden shed was built around the existing Tomb and the first shipment of marble was made to Washington. The old marble was removed. On the 29th of August 1931 the construction began.
• The 18th of October 1931 the base was rejected by General Louis Bash of the Quartermaster Generals Office.
• The 28th of December 1931 the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was capped.
• The 30th of December 1931 a picture of the Tomb minus the cap appeared in the Star newspaper.
• The 9th of April 1932 the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was unveiled.

The figures and carvings on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier have a great deal of meaning. The east side of the Tomb (facing towards Washington D.C.) contains a scene depicting the figures of Peace, holding a dove, Victory, holding a palm branch, and Valor, holding a sword. Peace through Victory by Valor.

There are three wreaths on the north and south faces of the Tomb for a total of six wreaths, which represent the six major campaigns of World War One; Chateau-Thierry, Ardennes, Oise-Aisne, Meuse-Argonne, Belleau Wood and The Somme. The wreaths are inverted to represent mourning and each one has 38 leaves and 12 berries for a total of 72 berries and 228 leaves (if the 29 leaves of the palm branch are included there are 257 leaves). On the west side of the Tomb, facing the amphitheater, an inscription reads

Here Rests In

 Honored Glory

An American

Soldier

Known But to God

Here are some weight and dimension statistics for the Tomb.

• There are four sections of the Tomb.
• The Sub Base is 15 tons and has four pieces.
• The Base is 16 tons.
• The Dye is 36 tons.
• The Cap is 12 tons.
• The total weight of the Tomb is 79 tons with a total of seven individual pieces.
• The Tomb is 10 feet and 10 and 3/4 inches high at the front.
• The Tomb is 8 feet and 10 and 3/4 inches high at the back.
• The width of the Tomb at the bottom is eight feet.
• The length of the Tomb at the bottom is thirteen feet and eleven inches.

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