TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER DEDICATED

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Dedicated

On November 11th, 1921, three years to the day after the armistice, an unknown American soldier from the First World War was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. The ceremony, attended by national leaders and grieving families, gave a face, or rather a place, to the thousands whose remains could not be identified. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier became a symbol of all who had gone to war and never returned home in a way their loved ones could recognize. Guarded in later years by a dedicated honor guard, the site emphasizes unending vigilance and respect for sacrifice that cannot be repaid. Over time, additional unknowns from later wars would join the first, even as advances in identification changed how nations account for their dead. The November dedication fixed the Tomb in the country’s ritual calendar, linking the silence of the armistice to the enduring duty to remember.