The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, United States is the burial site (and the white, marble sarcophagus above it) of a World War I soldier whose remains were unidentifiable. After a design competition was held in 1928, the winning project was completed in 1932. The site now also includes the gravesites of two other unknown soldiers, one from World War II and one from the Korean War, who were buried beneath two slabs between the tomb and the Memorial Amphitheater behind it.
Other nations also have national burial sites for unknowns from the First World War (also known as the Great War), such as the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Portugal, and Italy. The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is in the United Kingdom and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is in France. Nations have presented their highest awards or medals to each other's unknown soldier.
The World War I "Unknown" is a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the Victoria Cross, and several other foreign nations' highest service awards. The U.S. Unknowns from World War II and Korea have also received the Medal of Honor.
The Tomb is guarded around-the-clock by a Tomb Guard from the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment, "The Old Guard". An elaborate ceremony, the Changing of the Guard, takes place every half-hour from April through September and hourly from October through March.
On 4 March 1921, the United States Congress approved the burial of an unidentified American serviceman from World War I in the plaza of the new Memorial Amphitheater. On 11 November 1921, the unknown soldier brought back from France was interred below a three-level marble tomb. The bottom two levels are six granite sections each and the top at least nine blocks with a rectangular opening in the center of each level through which the unknown remains were placed through the tomb and into the ground below. A stone slab, rather than marble, covers the rectangular opening.
Since 1921, the intent was to place a superstructure on top of the Tomb, but it was not until 3 July 1926, that Congress authorized the completion of the Tomb and the expenditure of $50,000, equivalent to $727,000 in 2025. (The completed cost was $48,000.) A design competition was held and won by architect Lorimer Rich and sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones. An appropriation from Congress for the work was secured, and on 21 December 1929, a contract for completion of the Tomb itself was entered into. The Tomb would consist of seven pieces of marble in four levels (cap, die, base and sub-base) of which the die is the largest block with the sculpting on all four sides.
Quarrying the Yule marble (3.9 miles south of Marble, Colorado by the Vermont Marble Company) was a one-year process beginning in 1930. The cap was quarried on the first attempt but the base required three tries. The large middle block also required three tries. In late January 1931, the 56-ton middle block was lifted out of the quarry. The quarrying involved 75 men. When the block was separated from the mountain inside the quarry it weighed 124 tons. A wire saw was then brought into the quarry to cut the block down to 56 tons.
On 3 February 1931, the block reached the marble mill site (in the town of Marble) after a four-day trip from the quarry. There it was crated, then shipped to Vermont on 8 February. The block was sawed to final size in West Rutland, Vermont, and fabricated by craftsmen in Proctor, Vermont, before it was shipped by train to Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. By September, all seven blocks were on the grounds of the Tomb site, at Arlington.
Assembly began in September 1931. An imperfection was found in the base, requiring three more quarryings. By the end of December 1931, the assembly was completed. Finishing work followed, with the carvings on the die block by the Piccirilli Brothers under the direction of sculptor Thomas Jones. (The brothers also carved the Lincoln statue for the Lincoln Memorial, among others). The Tomb was completed without formal ceremony on 9 April 1932.
The Tomb was placed at the head of the grave of the World War I Unknown. West of this grave are the crypts of Unknowns from World War II (south) and Korea (north). Between the two lies a crypt that once contained an Unknown from Vietnam (middle). His remains were positively identified in 1998 through DNA testing as First Lieutenant Michael Blassie, United States Air Force, and were removed. Those three graves are marked with white marble slabs flush with the plaza.
The Tomb has a flat-faced form and is relieved at the corners and along the sides by neo-classical pilasters set into the surface with objects and inscriptions carved into the sides. The 1931 symbolism of the objects on the north, south, and east sides changed over time.
North and South panel with 3 wreaths on each side represent (in 1931) "a world of memories" but later the six major battles engaged in by American forces in France: Ardennes, Belleau Wood, Château-Thierry, Meuse-Argonne, Oisiu-Eiseu, and Somme. Each wreath has 38 leaves and 12 berries.
East panel that faces Washington, DC, are three Greek figures representing Peace, Victory, and "American Manhood" – but later "Valor" instead of "American Manhood"
West panel is inscribed with (centered on the panel):
as of 2004 (xxx)* 1931 die block dimension coming out of the quarry.
On Memorial Day, 1921, four unknown servicemen were exhumed from four World War I American cemeteries in France, Aisne-Marne, Meuse-Argonne, Somme, and St. Mihiel. U.S. Army Sgt. Edward F. Younger, who was wounded in combat, highly decorated for valor and received the Distinguished Service Cross, selected the Unknown of World War I from four identical caskets at the city hall in Châlons-en-Champagne, France, on 24 October 1921. Younger selected the World War I Unknown by placing a spray of white roses on one of the caskets. He chose the second casket from the right. The chosen Unknown was transported to the United States aboard USS Olympia. Those remaining were interred in the Meuse Argonne Cemetery, France.
The World War I Unknown lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda from his arrival in the United States until Armistice Day 1921. On 11 November 1921, President Warren G. Harding officiated at the interment ceremonies at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery. During the ceremony, the World War I Unknown was awarded the Victoria Cross by Admiral of the Fleet Lord Beatty, on behalf of King George V of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom Victoria Cross was placed with the soldier. Other Allied nations also awarded the American Unknown Soldier with decorations, including the Legion of Honour, Médaille Militaire, and Croix de Guerre from France, the War Cross from Czechoslovakia, the Gold Medal for Bravery from Italy, the Virtuti Militari from Poland, and the Virtutea Militara from Romania.
Earlier, on 17 October 1921, the British Unknown Warrior had been conferred the U.S. Medal of Honor by General of the Armies John Pershing.