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The Tomb of the Unknowns (also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, although it has never been officially named) is a monument in Arlington National Cemetery, United States dedicated to the American soldiers who have died without their remains being identified.
In late 1920 the United Kingdom had buried one of their unknown warriors in Westminster Abbey. France soon followed with their Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe, and on March 4, 1921, the United States Congress approved the burial of an unidentified American soldier from World War I in the plaza of the new Memorial Amphitheater. The tomb's design was selected in a competition won by architect Lorimer Rich. The white marble sarcophagus has a flat-faced form and is relieved at the corners and along the sides by neo-classic pilasters, or columns, set into the surface. The stone was quarried in Marble, Colorado. Sculpted into the east panel which faces Washington, D.C., are three Greek figures representing Peace, Victory, and Valor. Inscribed on the western panel of the Tomb are the words:
The six wreaths carved into the north and south of the tomb represent six major battles of World War I. The Tomb sarcophagus was placed above the grave of the Unknown Soldier of World War I. West of the World War I Unknown are the crypts of unknowns from World War II (north) and Korea (south). Between the two lies a crypt which once contained an unknown from Vietnam (middle). His remains were identified in 1998 as First Lieutenant Michael Blassie and removed. Those three graves are marked with white marble slabs flush with the plaza. Research Tips
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