the tomb of the unknown soldier started on november 11, 1921.
the tomb of the unknown soldier started on november 11, 1921.
when did the tomb of the unknown soldier start?
november 11, 1921
in 1921, a state funeral was conducted for the unknown soldier of world war i. the idea of honoring the unknown dead of world war i originated in europe, the first being the united kingdom and france on november 11, 1920. other nations such as italy soon followed this custom. at first, the idea of honoring a fallen and unknown soldier from world war i was met with resistance in the united states since there was no established place for burial of a fallen soldier similar to westminster abbey in london or the arc de triomphe in paris. in addition, all american servicemen who fought in the war were in the process of being identified and accounted for by the army graves registration, unlike the british and french who had many unknown dead. by 1920, a resolution in congress was proposed for such an honor and by march 4, 1921, public resolution 67 was approved by the 66th united states congress for the construction of the tomb of the unknown soldier at arlington national cemetery. congress on october 20, 1921, declared november 11, 1921, the third anniversary of armistice day, a legal holiday. the war department then began a selection process of an unknown soldier. four bodies were exhumed from four cemeteries; aisne-marne american cemetery and memorial, meuse-argonne american cemetery and memorial, somme american cemetery and memorial, and st. mihiel american cemetery and memorial in france. during the selection ceremony at châlons-sur-marne, it was edward f. younger of headquarters company, 2nd battalion, 50th infantry, american forces in germany who selected the third casket from left that contained an unknown soldier to be honored with a state funeral in washington d c. and for burial at arlington. in washington d.c. the unknown soldier was escorted to the capitol in a funeral procession on november 9. with lying in state occurring in the rotunda, some 90,000 people on november 9–10 filed past the casket that rested on the lincoln catafalque. a funeral service was conducted at the arlington memorial amphitheater in the presence of president warren g. harding. interment and burial of the unknown soldier with military rites took place at the newly constructed tomb.
state funerals in the united states
unknown soldier









































unknown soldier may refer to:









































section::::places.









































bullet::::- tomb of the unknown soldier, a type of memorial site in many nations









































bullet::::- tomb of the unknowns at arlington national cemetery, virginia, usa









































bullet::::- the unknown soldier, a memorial statue in tirana, albania









































section::::literature.









































bullet::::- "the unknown soldier" (novel), a 1954 novel by väinö linna









































bullet::::- "unknown soldier" (short story), a short story by kurt vonnegut









































section::::film.









































bullet::::- "the unknown soldier" (1926 film)









































bullet::::- "the unknown soldier" (1955 film), a finnish film based on the novel by väinö linna









































bullet::::- "unknown soldier" (1968 film), a film by donald shebib
unknown soldier