Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

World War I saw the introduction of many new ways of memorializing military deaths that occurred in the service of the nation. By the Armistice of 1918, America's war dead, though substantially less than that suffered by other nations, still numbered more than 100,000. Honoring a promise made in 1918, the War Department agreed to [Page 846]provide families with the choice of either bringing home the bodies of loved ones who died overseas (at government expense) or leaving their deceased buried in national cemeteries overseas. For those families whose loved ones' bodies had never been found, however, there would be no personal headstone and no place to grieve or mourn. Modern weapons of mass destruction used during the war had resulted in an inordinate number of men unaccounted for, graves totally destroyed during battle, and vast numbers of dead who remained unidentifiable. In honor of these 4,500 American “unknowns,” national political and military leaders in the United States followed the example of England and France, who each buried one unidentified soldier in 1920. On November 11, 1921, the third anniversary of the end of World War I, America laid the body of an unidentified soldier to rest at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia and designated it their “Unknown Soldier.” In October 1920, U.S. Army Sergeant Edward Younger chose the body amidst much ceremony in Chalons-sur-Marne, France, before it was shipped to Washington, D.C.

The dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in which the body of one unidentified casualty of World War I was laid to rest at the Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, on November 11, 1921. (© CORBIS)

Assurance of anonymity mattered more than rank, race, or social status for this exercise in democratic memory. Part invented and part copied symbolism, the Unknown Soldier represented the ideal of national community. The solemn pageantry and commemorative memorialization failed, however, to mask the postwar tension, divisiveness, and political rancor of a society disillusioned by war. Disagreements over where the body should be buried, how many unidentified bodies should be returned, the suitability of Arlington due to its isolated location, and [Page 847]the best day for burial (since some believed Memorial Day more appropriate), reflected the postwar ambivalence within American society at large.

More than 90,000 citizens filed past the casket the day before burial to pay homage to the Unknown Soldier as he lay in State under an honor guard in the rotunda of the Capitol. New York Congressman Hamilton Fish, Jr., himself a World War I veteran and author of the initial legislation to create the memorial, was the first to place a wreath upon the soldier's tomb. He was followed by scores of veterans and fraternal and service organizations paying their respectful tributes. On the morning of November 11, the procession moved solemnly through streets lined with Americans who gathered to witness the casket as it was moved to the national cemetery. Pres. Warren G. Harding conferred the Unknown Soldier with the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross in the presence of dignitaries from several nations, who in turn decorated the soldier with their military medals.

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