I have always wondered about the Unknown Soldier who was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C., so here is the story. About 77,000 United States servicemen had been killed on the Western Front during World War I, and there were 4 bodies with no identification on them. The bodies came from the 4 different cemeteries of Aisne-Marne, Somme, Meuse-Argonne and Saint-Mihiel. All 4 cemeteries had been great battlefields, and Meuse-Argonne and Saint-Mihiel had been sites of 2 offensive operations that had been led by United States soldiers. The service records reported: “The original records showing the internment of these bodies were searched and the four bodies selected represented the remains of soldiers of which there was absolutely no indication as to name, rank, organization or date of death.” The 4 bodies were taken to the Hotel de Ville in Chalons-sur-Marne on October 23, 1921. They were in caskets, and each casket was covered with and American flag. Sergeant Edward Younger was chosen to pick which body would be honored to represent those who had given their lives in the World War. He had white roses that he was going to use to mark the casket he chose. It is said that Sargent Younger “entered the chamber in which the bodies of the four Unknown Soldiers lay, circled the caskets three times, then silently placed the flowers on the third casket from the left. He faced the body, stood at attention and saluted.” The Unknown Soldier was taken to the Arlington National Cemetery where he was buried, and on his tomb was written, “An Unknown American who gave his life in the World War.”
The Unknown Soldier
