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Brett Earls Amber Lemiere English& 101 Fall 2013 Memorializing Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. A monument within a monument 6 dedicated to American service members whose bodies have been recovered but unidentified. The monument was never officially named but most call it "The Tomb of the Unknowns". The Tomb of the Unknowns has been guarded continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, since July 2nd, 1937. The tomb consists of 4 graves. The largest of the monument belonging to the first Unknown Soldier of WWI. Three slabs lay on top of three more unknowns. WWII (Right Slab), Korean War (Left Slab), and the middle slab used to lay a Vietnam Unknown, but was later identified in 1998. Each unknown represents all deceased unknown soldiers from his respective war. The construction of this monument symbolized an emotion of not only what was lost, but what has also survived. Its a tribute to our soldiers who have fallen fighting to protect and serve their fellow Americans. This tomb recognizes that although the brave members of our armed services may die in battle, we still appreciate and will never forget the ultimate sacrifice that they have made for the rest of us.

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America was not the first to honor the memory of unknown combatants who fell fighting for their country. After the first World War, officials of the Allied countries discovered that the bodies of many soldiers killed in battle could not be identified. Officials of Belgium, Britain, France, Italy, Portugal and the United States, all decided to honor the memory of these fallen soldiers. Each country chose an unknown to represent all of their fallen, buried his remains near the national capital and built a monument in his honor. The first unknown to be interred was in France. The first American Unknown Soldier was exhumed from a French cemetery on Memorial Day, 1921. On November 11th, at the Arlington National Cemetery, the Soldier was laid to rest. The Unknown Soldier brought back from France was interred inside a threelevel marble tomb. The marble is the finest and whitest of American marble--Yule, Colorado, marble. Harvested from the same quarry that allowed the creation of the Lincoln Memorial and plenty of other historic pieces that represent Americas history. The WWI Unknown Soldier is a recipient of the Victoria Cross, Medal of Honor, and multiple other awards. The Unknowns to follow in the future are all recipients of the Medal of Honor. Before the United States could inter an unidentified soldier from that war however, it was fighting another war in Korea. In 1958 the Unknown Soldier of World War II and the Unknown Soldier of Korea were interred in a double ceremony. May30th, 1958 President Eisenhower awarded the Unknowns of WWII and Korean War, their Medals, where they were then laid to rest in front their fellow service member of WWI. More than two decades later, the Unknown of Vietnam was put in the ground amongst the others by President Ronald Reagan on Memorial Day, May 28th, 1984. 14 years later in 1998, a man called Ted Sampley determined the remains of the Vietnam Unknown were that of First Lieutenant, Michael Blassie, of the United States Air Force. Blassie's remains were exhumed on May 14th, 1998 and returned to his family.

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The Tomb of the Unknowns is guarded every day and night of every year by soldiers of the United States Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment. To serve as a sentinel over the tomb is considered one of the highest honors. Very few are accepted for training, and even fewer pass to become guards. For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5' 10" and6' 2" tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30." The "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Guard Identification Badge" is the second least awarded decoration of the United States Military as a whole. All the guards speak a special creed. My dedication to this sacred duty, Is total and wholehearted. In the responsibility bestowed on me, Never will I falter. And with dignity and perseverance, My standard will remain perfection. Through the years of diligence and praise, And the discomfort of the elements. I will walk my tour in humble reverence, To the best of my ability. It is he who commands the respect I protect. His bravery that made us so proud. Surrounded by well-meaning crowds by day, Alone in the thoughtful peace of night. This soldier will in honored Glory rest, Under my eternal vigilance. A guard for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier takes 21 steps along a walking mat in front of the Tomb. These steps symbolize the 21-gun salute, the highest honor given to any deceased military soldier. On the 21st step the guard turns and faces the Tomb for another 21 seconds. He will then turn to face back down the mat, change his weapon to the outside soldier to signify that he his keeping himself between any danger and the Tomb, and then he counts another 21 steps across the mat. The guard repeats this pattern during his entire 30 minute shift.

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The tomb has undergone many repairs over the years, to preserve and respect the memory of deceased soldiers. Many people travel from all over the country, even some foreign countries, to Arlington, to pay their respects to the unidentified dead. The guards possibly put in more effort to their job than any other American in this country, with hours of dedication preceded by years of training, and it shows in the performance they put on 24 hours a day, every day. Many people will sit and wait just to watch the changing of the guard every 30 minutes. A special ceremony used to change guard shifts. We may not know these soldiers names, but we know they gave the ultimate sacrifice so we could live in this nation. They are far from forgotten, and the tomb allows to help everyone of us remember.