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The 1920s in America

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

by Jennifer L. Campbell

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was constructed in 1921 to honor the numerous unidentified soldiers killed in action during World War I. Located in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, the white marble tomb was designed by Lorimer Rich and sculpted by Thomas Hudson Jones.

Following World War I, several countries constructed memorials to honor the numerous soldiers killed during the war, many of whom could not be identified. Inspired by these monuments and by the suggestions of various military officials and civilians, Representative Hamilton Fish proposed the creation of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to Congress on December 21, 1920. In addition to being a public monument, the tomb would hold the remains of one unidentified soldier, thus symbolizing and honoring all of the soldiers whose identities remained unknown. The proposal met some resistance, as the secretary of war and the Senate Committee on Military Affairs were concerned that the rate at which remains were being identified made it likely that the Unknown Soldier would be identified as well. However, after changing the proposed date of the burial service to allow more soldiers to be identified, Congress approved Fish’s resolution on March 4, 1921.

Four deceased American service members, chosen for their lack of identifying information, were disinterred from American military cemeteries in France. On October 24, U.S. Army Sergeant Edward Younger selected a soldier by placing white roses on one of the caskets. The remaining soldiers were reburied with honors in France. The casket containing the Unknown Soldier was returned to the United States and placed in the Capitol rotunda until Armistice Day, November 11, 1921, when it was interred in the newly constructed tomb.

Located within the plaza of the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, the tomb consisted of a white marble sarcophagus designed by architect Lorimer Rich and sculpted by Thomas Hudson Jones. An inscription, “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God,” would later be engraved on the western side of the tomb. The tomb was guarded by civilians until 1926, when the Army began guard duty during daylight hours.

Coffin on its way from the Capitol to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

227_Tomb_of_the_Unknown_Soldier.jpg

(Getty Images)

Impact

A platoon within the Army’s Third Infantry Regiment, also known as the Old Guard, began to stand constant guard over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1937. The tomb became the final resting place for unidentified service members from World War II and the Korean War in 1958. In 1984, a soldier from the Vietnam War was interred in the tomb; however, DNA testing revealed the soldier’s identity in 1998, and his remains were returned to his family for burial.

Further Reading

1 

Bigler, Philip. In Honored Glory: Arlington National Cemetery, The Final Post. 4th ed. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Vandamere Press, 2007.

2 

Poole, Robert M. On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery. New York: Walker & Co., 2009.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Campbell, Jennifer L. "Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier." The 1920s in America, edited by Carl Rollyson, Salem Press, 2012. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=1920_0620.
APA 7th
Campbell, J. L. (2012). Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In C. Rollyson (Ed.), The 1920s in America. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Campbell, Jennifer L. "Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier." Edited by Carl Rollyson. The 1920s in America. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2012. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.