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Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Commemorative Guide Our richly illustrated commemorative guide tells the story of the Tomb's creation, history and significance. Attention: Road Closures Several roads in the cemetery are closed for necessary construction.

Arlington House Requires Tickets Timed tickets are now required. Pease click below to reserve your space. Tomb Resource Guide A one-stop resource for official news and information regarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier centennial commemoration.

Download our app today! Use our free app while visiting the cemetery. Funeral Information. Last Name. Please verify date and time within three days of scheduled service. About Funerals. President Warren G. Originally, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier consisted of a simple marble slab. During its early years, thousands of visitors came to Arlington National Cemetery to mourn at the Tomb and to pay their respects to the Unknown Soldier and the military personnel he represented.

The Tomb sarcophagus is decorated with three wreaths on each side panel north and south. On the front east , three figures represent Peace, Victory and Valor. However, the start of the Korean War in delayed those plans. In August , President Dwight D. The chosen Unknown needed to represent all unidentified American dead, not just those from one theater of the war. At the same time, they exhumed four bodies from the Korean War that were also buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Both Unknowns arrived in Washington, D. Capitol Rotunda for two days. However, many people believed that advances in technology would mean that all remains from Vietnam could eventually be identified. By May , only one set of recovered American remains from Vietnam had not been fully identified.

The Vietnam War Unknown lay in state in the U. Capitol Rotunda from May 25 to 28, In his eulogy, Reagan assured the audience that the government would continue looking for the Vietnam War's missing in action MIA personnel.

The Department of Defense and civilian partners continued working to identify remains recovered from Vietnam. Michael Joseph Blassie, a pilot who had been shot down in Using DNA testing, scientists positively identified the remains as those of Blassie. In accordance with the wishes of his family,. Louis, Missouri. The crypt designated for the Vietnam War Unknown remains vacant. The guards, present only during daylight hours, discouraged visitors from climbing or stepping on the Tomb.

The 3rd U. Soldiers of The Old Guard also serve as escorts to the president and conduct military ceremonies in and around Washington, D. Soldiers who volunteer to become Tomb Guards must undergo a strict selection process and intensive training.

Mary and George Custis lived at Arlington until their deaths in and , respectively, passing the property on to Mary Anna.

Although Robert E. Lee never owned the property, he and Mary Anna lived there until when Virginia seceded from the Union and Lee took command of the Virginia State Military while Mary Anna took safety elsewhere.

Lee never returned to Arlington House. In , the Federal Government repossessed the property over a failure to pay taxes and put it up for auction where a tax commissioner purchased the property for government, military, charitable, and educational purposes.

The following year Congress purchased the property outright. On June 15, , the Arlington House property and acres of surrounding land were designated as a military cemetery as Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs wanted to ensure that Lee could not return to the site.

The eternal flame at the grave of President John F.