The Washington times., 1921-11-06
UnknOlUn Yank To Be Borne
To Grave BY Eight Heroes
Pallbearers, Representing
Three Branches of Uncle
Sans Service, Are Typ
ical Americans Who
Won Highest Honors in
Face of Enemy Fire.

Woodytu, fd<gd,
Saunders, Jansen,
Delaney, Taylor,
O'Conn0r aud Dell!
Eight brave men will bear tn,
body Of the Great American I'm
known from the Capitol to Arlington
on Armistice Day.
If this soldier, who fell in France
unmindful of the homage that tru,
men everywhere would some day pa.
to him could be identified and sough
out in the great Valhalla of Fighting
Men where he has gone he woul,
have chosen comrads such as these
EIGHT TO LIFT BODY.
Five sergeants from the army.
one from the marines, and two petty
officers from the navy will lift the
body from the catafalque In the
Capitol rotunda. The same eight
men-significantly a full squad, will
lower It into the crypt beneath the
sky, stones throw from the cen
ter OF the memorial amphitheater
In Arlington.
ANot dll tHe Tdnh
win the attributes of these eight
body bearers nor the catafalque OF
the dead. For this squad will wear
upon their tunics the little bits of
ribbon which 1t is the nations priv
ilege to give those who are called
brave. And the catafalque once
held the finest clay of all the pass
ing pageant of American heroes.
the body of Abraham Lincoln. from
whose heart as II reposed in the
same rotunda sprang the fires of
a republic retempered In the crucible
of sacrifice.
The American Unknown will be
borne by men whose names typify
the sinews of America. Woodfill,
RaZga, Saunders, Jansen. Delaney,
Dell. Taylor and O'Connor-The An
glo-Saxon. Celt. Norseman and Latin
blood pulsing in the veins Of the
brave who will bear the bravest OF
the brave.
WHAT MATTERS DEATH
Yet these stalwart men. when they
come with measured steps mindful
of the burden on their shoulders,
might think with Sergt. Joyce Kill
mer (killed in action and with the
Unknown Soldier. too. that:
What Matters Death II Freedom be not
Dead?
No flags are fair II freedoms Flag be
furled."
The Unknown embodies the spirit
Of the soldier, and the chance that
a soldier encounters. Borne down
by the weight Of circumstances into
the depths Of unhappiness and pain,
marked out by the gods OF fate on
the eve Of action. or left to die from
illness or wounds In some far-off
hospital hut-yet the next moment
raised to become the glory OF a
people.
This squad that will bear the
pail was selected with a view toward
choosing one bearer from each Of the
army and navy activities In France.
Here too, shows the soldiers chance.
Some Of the men have their breasts
covered with decorations while
others served in fields where the op-
portunity for recognition never
came.
ARTILLERY SERGEANT.
A sergeant Of heavy artillery. a
man who was wounded serving one
OF the great guns to the rear Of the
infantryman's position, will help
bear the burden Of the Unknown side
by side with an infantryman who, by
his bravery and devotion to duty.
enspirited hundreds to finer acts Of
courage. A marine who dashed his
cup of life into the bright eyes OF
danger will walk with a sailor who
dared to standby when others had
left a darkly-swirling engine room.
An engineer who cut his way
through wire to throw his achieve
ment into the scales Of q German
machine gunner's accuracy will
stand stiffly at salute with a lad
who once served a forward gun on
an open deck while the .ifeboats
ratified from their davits.
LIVING TRIBUTE.
Tribute that the living soldier
pays to the dead, finer and more
understanding than all the pomp
Of medals and crosses of the ma
who will gather in the capitol
rotunda. They, better than the
captains and the kings, render
mute witness to the pity and fine
ness OF the crosses that are bleach
ing in the fields along the Marne.
1t Is because of the significance
of this tribute, truest honor to the
dead-besring the body Of a SOL
der unknown to them save that
they know he sprung from a royal
lineage In tho aristocracy OF sacri-
fice-it is for this reason that the
honors OF tho living soldier must
be set down.
CERGEANT SAMUEL WOOD
~ FILL has been a soldier for
sixteen years. He wears the Con-
gresional medal Of honor OF the
American Republic and the Legion
of Honor from the sister republic
Of France in testimony of con-
spicuous gallantry and intrepidity
above and beyond the call of duty
in action with the enemy at Cunel.
France, on October IL, 1918,
while captain of infantry in
the Fifth division. He was leading
his company in line against the
enemy when he encountered heavy
mschine-gun fire which threatened
to hold up his advance. Followed
by two soldiers at twenty-five
yards distance, Captain Woodfill
went ahead OF his line toward the
machine-gun position and worked
his way around it's flank, leaving