Dakota Beacon

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (1921-2021) marks a century of honoring those fallen in war who are known only to God. Throughout 2021 and culminating on Veterans Day Arlington National Cemetery held events marking the centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

For 100 years, since November 11, 1921, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has served as the heart of Arlington National Cemetery. As a sacred memorial and the burial site of three unknown American service members interred in the Tomb the monument connects visitors with the legacy of the United States armed forces throughout our nation’s history. This memorial to the unknown fallen in war stirs thoughts about service, valor, sacrifice, and mourning. As the final resting place for one of America’s unidentified World War I service members, the Tomb more recently acquired remains of unknowns from later wars.

In December 1920, Congress passed legislation providing for the interment of one unknown American soldier at a special tomb to be built in Arlington National Cemetery. Specifically, the legislation read “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.”

Bodies of four unknown soldiers were exhumed from cemeteries in France and prepared for the selection ceremony. On October 24, 1921, with the anonymous caskets arranged, Sergeant Edward F. Younger of the 2nd Battalion, 50th Infantry, was designated to select the Unknown Soldier by placing a spray of white roses on one of the four caskets.

The Unknown arrived in Washington, D.C. on November 9, 1921. On November 11 a state funeral presided over by President Warren G. Harding was held at Arlington National Cemetery and the Unknown was interred in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Following World War II, in August 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the selection and interment of Unknowns from both World War II and Korea.

Fought on four continents, World War II complicated the selection of an Unknown. In 1958, the Army exhumed 13 bodies from military cemeteries across North Africa and Europe and brought them to an American Cemetery in France. Major General O’Neill placed a red and white wreath on one of the 13 anonymous caskets designating the Unknown who would represent Europe and North Africa. The selected casket was transported by the USS Blandy to the United States.

To represent the Pacific Theater, the Army exhumed five bodies from the Philippines and Hawaii. At the same time, they exhumed four bodies from the Korean War also buried in Hawaii. All nine caskets were brought to Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii where one casket from the Pacific War and one from the Korean War were selected anonymously. Both caskets were flown to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and loaded aboard the USS Boston.

The USS Blandy (European remains) and USS Boston (Pacific and Korean remains) met the USS Canberra off the coast of Virginia. On May 26, 1958, all three caskets were placed on the Canberra. The World War II Unknown was selected. The caskets of the World War II and Korean War Unknowns were transported to Washington, D.C. aboard the USS Blandy. The remaining World War II Unknown received a solemn burial at sea. Both Unknowns arrived in Washington, D.C. on May 28, were transported to Arlington National Cemetery, and interred in crypts.

Before the Vietnam War ended, Arlington National Cemetery began making preparations to add another crypt to the Tomb. However, by May 1984, only one set of recovered American remains from Vietnam had not been fully identified. On May 17, 1984, the remains of the single Vietnam War Unknown were designated. On Memorial Day President Ronald Reagan presided over the interment ceremony at Arlington. In his eulogy he committed to continue the search for Vietnam War's missing in action (MIA). The Vietnam War Unknown lay at rest at the Tomb for 14 years.

Through identification efforts, the military suggested the Vietnam War Unknown was likely Air Force 1st Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie, a pilot who had been shot down in 1972. At the request of Blassie’s family, the military exhumed the remains from the Vietnam Unknown’s crypt on May 14, 1998. Using DNA testing, scientists positively identified the remains as those of Blassie. In accordance with the wishes of his family, Blassie was reinterred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri. The crypt designated for the Vietnam War Unknown remains vacant.

For our family, the Tomb of the Unknowns holds personal significance. My father walked as guard of the Tomb in August 1934. At that time the responsibility for guard duty rotated through the military units assigned around the greater Washington, DC area to include Maryland and Virginia. My father was assigned to Company F, 13th Engineer Battalion stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Almost sixty years after my father walked his post at the Tomb, our family had another encounter with the monument. During the spring of 1991, some years after I retired from the Army, my family and I were living in Northern Virginia. Our children were attending a Christian school. As with any school, field trips formed part of the curriculum. Our son’s school planned a trip to the Tomb of the Unknowns along with a wreath-laying ceremony. He and another boy in the sixth grade class were selected to lay the wreath at the Tomb.

Everyone should take the opportunity to visit the Tomb of the Unknowns. The pride and emotion one feels cannot be matched.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).