page_title: Arlington National Cemetery
section_title: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
hierarchical_section_title: Arlington National Cemetery / Memorials / Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
caption_attribution_description: English: The Arlington Amphitheater encompasses the original Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The remains of an unidentified WW I American soldier was entombed on Armistice Day, November 11, 1921, later covered in 1931 by a more elaborate marble sarcophagus. The stamp was issued on November 11, 1922, the first anniversary of entombment.
context_page_description: Arlington National Cemetery is a United States military cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., in whose 624 acres the dead of the nation's conflicts have been buried, beginning with the Civil War, as well as reinterred dead from earlier wars. The United States Department of the Army, a component of the United States Department of Defense, controls the cemetery.
  The national cemetery was established during the Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, which had been the estate of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Custis Lee. The Cemetery, along with Arlington House, Memorial Drive, the Hemicycle, and the Arlington Memorial Bridge, form the Arlington National Cemetery Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 2014.
context_section_description: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier stands on top of a hill overlooking Washington, D.C. One of the more well-attended sites at the cemetery, the tomb is made from Yule marble quarried in Colorado. It consists of seven pieces, with a total weight of 79 short tons (72 metric tons). The tomb was completed and opened to the public April 9, 1932, at a cost of $48,000.
  Other unknown servicemen were later placed in crypts there, and it also became known as the Tomb of the Unknowns, though it has never been officially named. The soldiers entombed there are:
  Unknown Soldier of World War I, entombed November 11, 1921; President Warren G. Harding presided
  Unknown Soldier of World War II, interred May 30, 1958; President Dwight D. Eisenhower presided
  Unknown Soldier of the Korean War, also interred May 30, 1958; President Dwight Eisenhower presided again, Vice President Richard Nixon acted as next of kin
  Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam War, interred May 28, 1984; President Ronald Reagan presided. The remains of the Vietnam Unknown were disinterred, under the authority of President Bill Clinton, on May 14, 1998, and were identified as those of Air Force 1st Lt. Michael J. Blassie, whose family had them reinterred near their home in St. Louis, Missouri. It has been determined that the crypt at the Tomb of the Unknowns that contained the remains of the Vietnam Unknown will remain empty.
  The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been perpetually guarded since July 2, 1937, by the U.S. Army. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard") began guarding the Tomb on April 6, 1948. There is a meticulous routine that the guard follows when watching over the graves. The Tomb Guard:
  Marches 21 steps southward down the black mat behind the Tomb
  Turns left, facing east for 21 seconds
  Turns left, facing north for 21 seconds
  Takes 21 steps down the mat
  Repeats the routine until the soldier is relieved of duty at the changing of the guard
  After each turn, the Guard executes a sharp "shoulder-arms" movement to place the weapon on the shoulder closest to the visitors to signify that the Guard stands between the Tomb and any possible threat.
  Twenty-one was chosen because it symbolizes the highest military honor that can be bestowed—the 21-gun salute.
  Each turn the guard makes precise movements and followed by a loud click of the heels as the soldier snaps them together. The guard is changed every half-hour during daylight in the summer, and every hour during daylight in the winter and every two hours at night (when the cemetery is closed to the public), regardless of weather conditions.
  A commemorative stamp was issued on November 11, 1922, the first anniversary of the first entombment picturing the Amphitheater. It encompasses the original Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The remains of an unidentified WW I American soldier was entombed on Armistice Day, November 11, 1921, later covered in 1931 by a more elaborate marble sarcophagus.
caption: Arlington Amphitheater 1922 issue
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