Evening star., 1936-11-08
Bv Paul p. Walsh.

TT WAS a cool, gray morning In
Washington Occasional flashes
Of Autumn sunshine warmed the
i reds and blues in flags and bunt-
Ing decorating the Capitals build
1ngs. -.--..
Although it was holiday, the city
had awakened early, and already, at
$50, the curbs and sidewalks along
Pennsylvania avenue were jammed in
anticipation of a singular procession.
On Capitol Hill, other thousands OF
citizens stood about, in a silence and
good order uncommon to holiday
crowds, observing Washington official
dom gathering with foreign statesmen
and with representatives of every Sec
tion of American life, to honor an
obscure hero.
For this was November II, 1921, the
third anniversary of the ending OF the
World War, though the first year that
Armistice day was proclaimed ma
tional holiday. On this day the Un-
known Soldier would be buried in
Arlington Cemetery.
Nearly year before, on December
2l, 1920, Representative Hamilton Fish
had introduced joint resolution to
empower the Secretary of War to
choose from among the unidentified
American dead in France one soldier
to be buried with honors in the United
States, as representative of all our un-
known dead who gave their lives in
the World War.
The resolution was passed by both
houses of Congress, and signed by
President Woodrow Wilson on March
4, 1921, as one of his last official acts
the morning he left the White House
to retire into a seclusion broken only
once before his death. That once was
when he rode in the funeral OF the
Unknown Soldier.
A majority of the American dead in
France were buried in the four ceme-
teries of Aisne- -Marne, se-Argonne,
Somme and st. Mihiel, located re-
spectively near the scenes OF the
major engagements in which American
troops NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Wood,
Romagne, Bony and Thiacourt.
From one of these, therefore, the
Unknown Soldier would be removed.
This duty was assigned to the Graves
Registration Service, which at that
time was making diligent effort to
identify the bodies Of American dead.
From among the bodies impossible to
identity, two from each cemetery were
exhumed on October %, 1921. One OF
each pair was transported to Chalons-
sur-Marne. The travel schedules were
so arranged that the bodies arrived
over their respective routes almost
simultaneously at 3 pm. Sunday. Octo-
Der %. The four remaining bodies
one from each cemetery-were re-
tanned in their respective cemeteries as
alternates in the event of last-minute
identification of any Of the foui
shipped to Chalons.
The four cofins from which the
choice of the Unknown Soldier was t
be made were placed side by side II
the Hotel de Vile (the City HalD, q
Chalons, each coffin resting on thu
packing case in which 1t had beer
transported. In order to eliminate th'
possibility of any one knowing ever
from which cemetery the Unknown
Soldier came, the cofins were shiftet
about on the packing cases secretl.
next morning. Also, to destroy an,
final record of the identity OF the Un
known Soldier, the regulation form
used in shipping all four bodies wer
burned by an American officer In tn
presence of another. All other record
had been destroyed previously by tn
Graves Registration Service.
ON THE morning of Monday, Oc
tober "a, at 10 o'clock the Un
known Soldier was chosen. The honC
Of making the choice was accorded I
Sergt. Edward Younger Of the Amer
lean Army of Occupation, in recogni
ton Of his splendid service recort
He was q veteran of four major en-
gagements, had been decorated. an
twice wounded. In the presence {
American and French officers, lendin
citizens Of Chalons, newspaper N