The
Last Salute: Civil and Military Funeral, 1921-1969
CHAPTER I
The Unknown
Soldier of World War I
State Funeral
23 October-II November 1921
The idea of honoring the
unknown dead of World War I originated in Europe. France and England
first paid such honors on 11 November 1920, and Italy and other European
nations soon followed.
The commanding general of American forces in France, Brig. Gen. William
D. Connor, learned of the French project while it was still in the planning
stage. Favorably impressed, he proposed a similar project for the United
States to the Army Chief of Staff, General Peyton C. March, on 29 October
1919.
That General March disapproved General Connor's proposal is suggested
by the Chief of Staff's later reply to Mrs. M. M. Melony, editor of
the Delineator, who made a similar suggestion. General March
explained to Mrs. Melony that while the French and English had many
unknown dead, it appeared possible that the Army Graves Registration
Service eventually would identify all American dead. Furthermore, the
United States had no burial place for a fallen hero similar to Westminster
Abbey or the Arc de Triumphe. In any case, March pointed out,
the matter was one for Congress to decide.
On 21 December 1920, Congressman Hamilton Fish, Jr., of New York introduced
a resolution calling for the return to the United States of an unknown
American soldier killed in France and his burial with appropriate ceremonies
in a tomb to be constructed at the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington
National Cemetery. The measure was approved on 4 March 1921 as Public
Resolution 67 of the 66th Congress. It included a provision for the
construction of the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington National
Cemetery. As then established, the tomb was to be a simple structure
that eventually would serve as the base for an appropriate monument.
(It was not until 3 July 1926 that Congress appropriated $50,000 to
complete the tomb. The design and a further appropriation were approved
on 21 December 1929 and a contract for the work was entered upon. Meanwhile,
on 29 February 1929, Congress had granted money for improving the landscape
and approaches to the tomb.)
Congressman Fish wanted the burial ceremony for the unknown soldier
to be held on Memorial Day, 1921, but on 12 February, while the bill
was still before the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, Secretary
of War Newton D. Baker in
[3]
formed the committee that
the date was premature. He had been advised by the Quartermaster General,
who would be in charge of selecting and preparing the body of the unknown
soldier, that only 1,237 American dead were still unidentified and that
the cases of almost all of these were being investigated. Haste, the
Quartermaster General had pointed out, could result in the burial of
a body which might later be identified.
Congressman Fish tried again through the new Secretary of War, John
W. Weeks, who replaced Baker on 4 March 1921 when President Warren G.
Harding took office, to arrange the ceremony, this time for 31 May.
But Secretary Weeks upheld Baker's earlier view for the same reasons
and chose Armistice Day, 1921, the third anniversary of the war's end,
as the appropriate time to conduct the services. In response to this
choice, Congress, on 20 October 1921, declared 11 November 1921 a legal
holiday to honor all those who participated in World War I; an elaborate
ceremony in Washington would pay tribute to the symbolic unknown soldier.
The War Department had charge of ceremonies both overseas and in the
United States. Plans for overseas included ceremonies attending the
choice of an unknown soldier and the transfer of his body to the Navy
for transportation to the United States. In the United States, arrangements
were made for receiving the unknown soldier from the Navy at Washington,
D.C., for a lying in state ceremony in the Capitol, and for funeral
and burial services at Arlington National Cemetery.
On 9 September 1921 the Quartermaster General received orders from the
War Department to select an unknown soldier from those buried in France.
Following the selection ceremony, he was to deliver the body to Le Havre,
where the Navy would receive it for transportation to the United States.
The necessary arrangements were completed by the Quartermaster Corps
in France in cooperation with French and U.S. Navy authorities. According
to plans, the selection ceremony was to take place at Chalons-sur-Marne,
ninety miles east of Paris, on 23 October 1921.
After a final search of the records of unknown dead for any evidence
of identity, special Quartermaster Corps teams chose four bodies to
be exhumed as possible recipients of the honors. Four others were selected
as alternates should the exhumation of any of the first four reveal
evidence of identity.
The body of an unidentified American was exhumed from each of four American
cemeteries—Aisne-Maine, Meuse-Argonne, Somme, and St. Mihiel—on 22 October
1921. Each was examined to ensure that the person had been a member
of the American Expeditionary Forces, that he had died of wounds received
in combat, and that there were no clues to his identity whatsoever.
After mortuary preparation, the bodies were placed in identical caskets
and shipping cases. The next day they were carried by truck to Chalons-sur-Marne
for the selection ceremony.
[4]
At 1500 on 23 October all
four caskets arrived by truck at the city hall of Chalons-sur-Marne.
Awaiting them was a large delegation of French and American officials.
The American group was headed by the Quartermaster General, Maj.Gen.
Harry L. Rogers, and included Col. Harry F. Rethers, the chief of the
American Graves Registration Service in Europe; Lt. Col. William G.
Ball, Quartermaster Corps; Maj. Robert P. Harbold, also of the Quartermaster
Corps, who was the officer in charge and controlled all ceremonies;
Capt. E. Le Roch, a liaison officer from the French Army; Mr. Keating,
the chief supervising embalmer; and representatives of the press. The
chief French representatives were General Duport, commanding the French
6th Army Corps; M. Brisac, Prefet de la Marne; and M. Servas,
Maire de Chalons-sur-Marne.
Members of the American Quartermaster Corps and town officials had
prepared the city hall for the selection ceremony. The outside of the
building was decorated with French and American flags; inside, the aisles
and corridors were ornamented with palms, potted trees, and flags, and
a catafalque had been constructed and set up in the main hall. Another
room was decorated for the reception of the four unknown soldiers and
a third was prepared for the ceremony in which the chosen unknown soldier
was to be transferred to a different casket. (Diagram 1)
French troops carried the shipping cases from the trucks into the
reception room of the city hall. The caskets were then removed, set
on top of the cases, and draped with American flags. A French guard
of honor stood watch until 2200 when six American pallbearers arrived
from Headquarters, American Forces in Germany, at Coblenz. From this
time on, a combined American-French guard maintained constant vigil.
Early on the morning of 24 October Major Harbold, aided by French and
American soldiers, rearranged the caskets so that each rested on a shipping
case other than the one in which it had arrived. There was now little
chance that someone would know even the cemetery from which an unidentified
body came. Major Harbold then chose Sgt. Edward F. Younger of Headquarters
Company, 2d Battalion, 50th Infantry, American Forces in Germany, to
select the unknown soldier. Originally, a commissioned officer was to
do the choosing, but General Rogers changed the plans after learning
that the French had designated an enlisted man to choose their unknown
soldier. The choice was delegated to Major Harbold, who then appointed
Sergeant Younger.
Before the selection a French military band formed in the city hall
courtyard adjoining the reception room. The ceremony began as General
Duport led French and American officers and French civil Officials to
the entrance of the reception room, where they rendered honors to the
dead. They then lined the hallway leading to the room.
After General Duport and General Rogers made brief speeches Sergeant
Younger led the way from the main hall, carrying a spray of white roses
presented by a Frenchman who had lost two sons in the war. As the French
band in the
[5]
Diagram 1. City Hall, Châlons-sur-Marne, France, site of the selection
ceremony.
[6]
courtyard played a hymn,
Younger walked around the caskets several times before placing the roses
on one to indicate his selection. He then saluted the chosen unknown
American, after which the officials in the hallway, led by General Duport,
came forward to present their respects. (The roses that had been placed
on the casket remained there and were buried with the unknown American
in Arlington.)
Following this ceremony the pallbearers, all Army noncommissioned officers
from American units in Germany, moved the casket to the second room
where Mr. Keating, in the presence of General Rogers, Colonel Rethers,
Colonel Ball, and Major Harbold, transferred the body to a special casket
brought from the United States. This casket was then sealed. The empty
casket was returned to the reception room, where one of the three remaining
bodies was placed in it so that the casket could not be identified.
The caskets of the three remaining unknown Americans were then placed
in shipping cases and at 1100 were put aboard trucks
CASKET IS
CARRIED FROM CITY HALL, CHÂLONS-SUR-MARNE, FRANCE
[7]
that took them to Romagne
Cemetery, 152 miles east of Paris, for immediate burial.
The casket of the nameless American who was to be honored in the United
States as the Unknown Soldier of World War I was draped with an American
flag and carried in procession to the catafalque in the main hall. The
spray of roses lay on top of the casket and floral tributes were banked
around it. An honor guard of six French and five American soldiers and
a uniformed representative of the American Legion took post. After the
press had been admitted to photograph the catafalque, the room was opened
to the public.
According to plans, the Unknown Soldier was to be carried in procession
through Chalons-sur-Marne to the railroad station. The casket was then
to be put aboard a special funeral train provided by the French government
and taken via Paris to Le Havre. The procession through Chalons-sur-Marne
was to follow the Rue de Marne, which stretched for almost a mile directly
from the city hall entrance to the railroad station. An honor cordon
of dismounted French cavalry lined both sides of the route. The military
escort of French Army units included a band, a regiment of dragoons,
a regiment of infantry, two field artillery battalions, and a motor
transportation company. The single American Army unit was from the Quartermaster
Corps. Also in the escort were French Boy Scouts, firemen, war veterans,
representatives of local societies, and students.
The departure ceremony opened late in the afternoon of 24 October with
speeches by the mayor of Chalons-sur-Marne and by Maj. Gen. Henry T.
Allen, who came especially for the occasion from Germany where he commanded
American forces. The American body bearers then carried the casket of
the Unknown Soldier out of the city hall. While the French military
band played "Aux Champs" and the escort troops presented arms,
the body bearers placed the casket on a caisson. Boy Scouts picked up
the flowers that had surrounded the catafalque and took positions near
the caisson. After General Allen, General Rogers, Colonel Rethers, General
Duport, and other officials joined the cortege, the procession moved
to the railroad station at the slow cadence of funeral marches played
by the band.
At the station the band played the American national anthem while the
body bearers transferred the Unknown Soldier from the caisson to the
funeral car of the special train. The train left Chalons-sur-Marne at
1810 and arrived in Paris three hours later, where it remained overnight.
Posted as a guard of honor during the night were three American soldiers
and a uniformed representative of the American Legion.
On 25 October, after French officials and representatives of patriotic
societies had paid their respects and left tributes to the Unknown Soldier,
the special train left Paris at midmorning and reached Le Havre about
1300. On hand to escort the Unknown Soldier to the docks were representatives
of the French and Ameri-
[8]
can governments, an American
Army honor guard, a large contingent of French Army troops, a French
Army band, a detachment of French sailors, representatives of various
French societies and associations, and mounted gendarmes. Thirty French
soldiers removed the floral pieces from the train and took position
in the column for the procession to the docks. The American body bearers
then carried the casket from the funeral car and placed it on a waiting
caisson while the band played "Aux Champs" and French school
children showered the caisson with flowers. The procession then started
for the Pier d'Escale where the cruiser USS Olympia, Admiral
Dewey's old flagship, waited to take the Unknown Soldier to the United
States. En route via the Boulevard Strassbourg, the procession stopped
briefly at the city hall where members of the city council presented
a wreath to the Unknown Soldier.
At the pier, after speeches
by American and French officials and the presentation of the Croix de
chevalier de la Legion d'honneur to the Unknown Soldier by M. Maginot,
the Minister of Pensions who later inspired the Maginot Line, the body
bearers carried the casket to the Olympia. A group of American
Marines on the dock presented arms, and the cruiser's band played the
French and American national anthems and Chopin's "Funeral March"
as six sailors and two marines relieved the Army body bearers and carried
the casket aboard ship. Rear Adm. Lloyd H. Chandler, commanding the
Olympia, members of his staff, and French and American officials
marched behind the casket as it was taken to the stern, which had been
decorated. Tributes of flowers, some brought aboard by French school
children, were placed around the casket.
The Olympia, escorted
by the American destroyer Rueben James (DD-245 —later the first
American warship to be sunk in World War II ) and eight French naval
vessels, put out to sea at 1520. She received a 17-gun salute as she
cleared harbor and another as the French ships dropped astern just outside
French territory.
Brig. Gen. Harry H. Bandholtz,
commanding the Military District of Washington, was responsible for
planning the ceremonies in the United States. On 19 October he published
plans for the reception of the Unknown Soldier's body from the Navy
at the Washington Navy Yard; its movement in procession to the Capitol
on 9 November; the lying in state period in the rotunda, ending 10 November;
and the procession to Arlington National Cemetery, funeral service in
the Memorial Amphitheater, and burial service at the newly constructed
tomb on 11 November.
On a rainy 9 November the
Olympia sailed up the Potomac River, receiving and returning
salutes from military posts along the way, and docked at the Washington
Navy Yard about 1600. On hand to receive the body of the Unknown Soldier
were General Bandholtz, who was the escort commander; the 3d Cavalry
and its mounted band from Fort Myer, Virginia; and military and civil
officials, including the Army Chief of Staff, General of the Armies
John J. Pershing, Chief of
[9]
CEREMONY
AT THE PIER, LE HAVRE, FRANCE
Naval Operations, Admiral
Robert E. Coontz, Commandant of the Marine Corps, Maj. Gen. John A.
Lejeune, Secretary of War John Weeks, and Secretary of Navy Edwin Denby.
When the Olympia docked,
the two squadrons of the 3d Cavalry were already in line facing the
cruiser from the far side of the dock area. To the left of these squadrons,
at a right angle to their line, was the mounted band. After members
of the ship's crew installed the gangplank, the ship's complement of
marines and the band marched off and formed a line at the near edge
of the pier facing the cavalry squadrons. The military and civil dignitaries
next aligned themselves at the right of the cavalrymen and opposite
the mounted band, thus completing a box formation.
After Navy buglers aboard
the Olympia sounded attention, a body bearer detail of marines
and sailors from the ship's company carried the casket to the gangplank.
Simultaneously, the cruiser commenced firing minute guns and the ship's
band began to play Chopin's "Funeral March."
As the casket was carried
through the railings, the boatswain piped the Unknown Soldier ashore
in the fashion accorded a full admiral. Admiral Chandler
[10]
and his staff in full dress,
bareheaded and hats held against their chests, followed the casket.
On the dock the civil dignitaries removed their hats as the troops saluted.
When the Navy procession cleared the foot of the gangplank, it halted
and the boatswain sounded his pipe to signify that the party had left
the ship. The ship's band then ceased playing the funeral march, a marine
bugler sounded four flourishes, and the ship's band played the national
anthem.
At the close of the anthem,
the Olympia's band resumed the funeral march while the procession
moved through the box formation to a draped caisson standing between
the two squadrons of cavalry at the far side. The reception ceremony
ended as eight Army body bearers from the 3d Cavalry took the casket
from the ship's detail and placed it on the caisson.
The cavalry band, playing
"Onward Christian Soldiers," led the procession to the Capitol.
Following in order were a squadron of cavalry, the caisson, the remaining
cavalry squadron, and the military and civil dignitaries in their automobiles.
The route taken by the column through the Washington Navy Yard to the
gate was lined on both sides by marines at present arms. Once outside
the yard, the procession moved via M Street and New Jersey Avenue to
the East Plaza of the Capitol.
At the Capitol the 3d Cavalry
formed a line facing the building with a squadron on either side of
the plaza driveway at the foot of the east steps. Along each side of
the driveway and the steps was an honor cordon of troops from the 13th
Engineers, commanded by Maj. Charles P. Gross from Camp Humphreys (later
Fort Belvoir), Virginia. Inside the rotunda four honor guards, also
from the 13th Engineers, were already posted at the corners of the Lincoln
catafalque on which the casket of the Unknown Soldier would rest. In
addition to the members of the 13th Engineers who served as honor guards
through the night of 9 November, Major Gross had under his command details
of one noncommissioned officer and four men each from Army aviation,
field artillery, coast artillery, and infantry, and from the Navy, Marine
Corps, and District of Columbia National Guard. These details acted
as reliefs for the guards at the bier on 10 November. Some 250 marines
also joined Major Gross on 10 November for duty outside the building
to help control the movement of the public into the Capitol to pay respect.
The horse-drawn caisson
stopped before the Capitol steps and the Army body bearers removed the
casket, carried it past the honor cordon and into the rotunda, and placed
it on the Lincoln catafalque, with the foot of the casket to the west.
Walking behind the casket were the military and civil officials who
had accompanied the body from the Navy Yard.
Shortly thereafter, President
Warren G. Harding and Mrs. Harding walked up the east steps through
the honor cordon and entered the rotunda. Mrs. Harding placed a wide
white band of ribbon, which she had made herself, on the casket. President
Harding then stepped forward, pinned a silver National Shield with forty-eight
gold stars to the ribbon, and placed a great wreath of crimson
[11]
CASKET IS
CARRIED DOWN EAST STEPS OF THE CAPITOL
roses on the casket. Vice
President Calvin Coolidge and Speaker of the House Frederick H. Gillette
next advanced together followed by Chief Justice William H. Taft, Secretary
Weeks, and Secretary Denby, in that order, and placed wreaths for the
Congress, Supreme Court, Army, and Navy, respectively. After these presentations
other officials, including General Pershing, made floral offerings.
The assembled dignitaries then filed out of the rotunda leaving the
guard of honor to maintain a vigil through the night.
In preparation for receiving
the public on 10 November, Capitol employees on the evening of the 9th
roped off areas in the rotunda which would channel the crowds as they
entered from the east, moved past the bier, and continued out the west
door. Also at that time the casket was turned around so that its foot
was to the east. With this change the body bearers would not have to
maneuver for correct position when taking the Unknown Soldier from the
rotunda on 11 November but could carry the casket straight out the east
door.
The public was admitted
to the rotunda at 0800 on 10 November. Delegations of various patriotic
and fraternal organizations were among the lines of people passing the
bier four abreast. Having received permission to conduct brief services,
[12]
some organizations assembled
on the steps of the Senate wing, entered the rotunda through the north
entrance, and, after placing wreaths and conducting their rites, filed
out with the public through the west door. Many foreign diplomatic delegations
also arrived to offer their respects and leave floral tributes. Because
the lines were still long at 2200, the scheduled hour of closing, the
rotunda was kept open until midnight. By that hour some 90,000 persons
had passed the bier.
The funeral procession was
scheduled to leave the Capitol at 0830 on 11 November. Well before that
time the military escort and the dignitaries who would march in the
procession formed on the East Plaza. All other participating groups
assembled on side streets near either the Capitol grounds or Pennsylvania
Avenue where they could join the cortege at the proper point. Army and
Navy troops meanwhile formed an honor cordon on the east steps of the
Capitol.
Of eight body bearers selected
to handle the casket, five were Army noncommissioned officers, two were
Navy petty officers, and one was a Marine Corps noncommissioned officer.
Nine general officers and three flag officers, all of whom had served
in World War I, had been appointed as honorary pallbearers. At 0800
the body bearers, followed by the honorary pallbearers, carried the
casket of the Unknown Soldier from the rotunda and down the east steps
to the caisson. While the US Army Band on the plaza played a dirge,
the military units stood at present arms. At the same time a field artillery
battery brought in from Camp Meade, Maryland, and positioned on the
Capitol Mall near the Washington Monument began firing minute guns.
Except for a scheduled pause at noon to observe a two minute period
of silence during the funeral service, the battery continued to fire
a round each minute until the end of all ceremonies. At the foot of
the east steps of the Capitol four body bearers, flanked on the outside
by six honorary pallbearers, took station on each side of the caisson
as General Bandholtz, the escort commander, led the way toward Pennsylvania
Avenue for the march to Arlington National Cemetery.
Behind General Bandholtz
and his staff of three, all mounted, were a band, a drum corps, a composite
foot regiment (in a column of battalions), a mounted field artillery
battalion, and a squadron of cavalry, in that order. ( Table 1)
Leading the long cortege
behind the military escort were four clergymen, two of them active chaplains
and two retired. At their head was the Right Reverend Charles H. Brent,
who had been the Senior Chaplain of the American Expeditionary Forces
during World War I and who was in charge of the religious rites of the
funeral ceremony. The clergy and all other members of the cortege were
on foot except former President Woodrow Wilson who was ill and rode
in a carriage.
The caisson was next in
column followed by the President with the Army Chief of Staff at his
left, the Vice President with the Chief of Naval Operations at his left,
and the Chief Justice of the United States with the Commandant of the
Coast Guard at his left. Originally, former President Wilson was to
have followed the Chief Justice, but he entered the procession late
and therefore joined the
[13]
TABLE
1—MILITARY ESCORT, MAIN PROCESSION FOR THE
UNKNOWN SOLDIER OF WORLD WAR I
Composition
|
Organization
|
1 Band
|
US Army
Band, Washington Barracks (later Fort McNair), DC |
1 Drum
corps |
Army Drum
Corps, Washington Barracks, DC |
1 Composite
foot regiment |
3d Battalion,
64th Infantry, Fort Washington, Maryland Combined battalion, bluejackets
and marines, Washington Navy Yard and Quantico, Virginia Engineer
battalion, District of Columbia National Guard |
1 Artillery
battalion |
2d Battalion,
3d Field Artillery, Fort Myer, Virginia |
1 Cavalry
squadron |
2d Squadron,
3d Cavalry, Fort Myer, Virginia |
column farther back. Instead,
the remaining members of the Supreme Court came after the Chief Justice
and were followed by members of the cabinet, state governors, and members
of the Senate and House of Representatives, in that order.
To help maintain the quick-time
cadence at which the procession was to move, a section of the Army Drum
Corps was next in column. Behind the drums marched soldiers who had
received the Medal of Honor. All holders of this highest military award
had been invited to participate, but only those who had won it in World
War I were invited at government expense. The medal of honor winners
marched eight abreast, ranging from front to rear according to the dates
of their medals, those holding the oldest medals leading. It was behind
this honored group that the carriage bearing former President Wilson
joined the procession.
A group composed of an officer
and an enlisted man from each arm and service of the Army, Navy, Marine
Corps, and Coast Guard followed the former President, also marching
eight abreast, according to rank from front to rear. Behind this formation
were 132 state and territorial representatives of the troops who had
served in World War I. Each state and territory had been invited to
send not more than three men, to be selected by the governor. Those
participating marched eight abreast, arranged alphabetically according
to state from front to rear.
The remaining contingents
consisted of representative groups of forty-four patriotic, fraternal,
and welfare organizations. Following one another in no particular order,
each group marched in a column of eight with one representative leading.
( Table 2 )
The procession moved along
Pennsylvania Avenue to 15th Street, on 15th Street to Pennsylvania Avenue
again, past the White House to M Street, then on M Street to Aqueduct
Bridge, which was slightly upstream from the present Francis Scott Key
Bridge. When the column reached the White House, it stopped briefly
while President Harding, Vice President Coolidge, Chief Justice Taft
and the other justices of the Supreme Court, and members of the cabinet,
Senate, and
[14]
TABLE
2—PARTICIPATING PATRIOTIC, FRATERNAL, AND WELFARE
ORGANIZATIONS, MAIN PROCESSION FOR THE UNKNOWN
SOLDIER OF WORLD WAR I
|
The Grand Army of
the Republic |
Confederate Veterans |
Distinguished Service
Order |
The American Legion |
National War Mothers
(including Gold Star Mothers) |
Veterans of Foreign
Wars |
Military Order of
Foreign Wars |
Military Order of
the World War |
Indian War Veterans
Association |
Military Order of
the Loyal Legion of the U.S.A. |
Spanish-American
War Veterans |
Naval and Military
Order of the Spanish-American War |
Imperial Order of
the Dragon |
Navy League of the
US |
National Association
of Naval Veterans |
Society of World
War Veterans, Inc. |
Jewish Veterans of
the World War |
Military Training
Camps Association |
World War Veterans
(Northwest) |
Colored Veterans
of the War |
Grand Army of Americans |
Divisional Societies
(in numerical order of divisions) |
Red Cross |
Salvation Army |
Young Men's Christian
Association |
Knights of Columbus |
Jewish Welfare Board |
American Library
Association |
Overseas Service
League |
Red Cross Overseas
Service League |
Overseas League,
Young Men's Christian Association Women Workers |
National Catholic
War Council |
American Women's
Legion |
American Defense
Society, Inc. |
Rotary Club |
Society of Cincinnati
|
Daughters of Cincinnati |
Sons of the Revolution |
Daughters of the
American Revolution |
Sons of American
Revolution |
Children of the American
Revolution |
Daughters of 1812 |
Ladies Auxiliary,
Veterans of Foreign Wars |
Georgetown Cadets |
|
[15]
PRESIDENT HARDING SPEAKS AT MEMORIAL AMPHITHEATER SERVICE
House of
Representatives left the procession to travel by car to Arlington
National Cemetery. They took a separate route via Highway Bridge at
14th Street and entered the cemetery through Treasury Gate. President
Harding was almost late for the cemetery ceremonies; his car was caught
in a tight traffic jam, and only by cutting across an open field was
he able to arrive on time.
The main procession marched
to Aqueduct Bridge, where the clergy dropped out and continued by car
to the cemetery. The US Army Band also left the procession at the bridge
and was replaced for the remainder of the march by the US Marine Band.
Upon reaching the cemetery's Arlington (Fort Myer) Gate, the cavalry
squadron, field artillery battalion (less one firing battery), and machine
gun company of the infantry battalion left the column and paraded on
a drill ground facing the cemetery. As the Marine Band played a funeral
march, the rest of the procession moved through the cemetery to the
west entrance of the Memorial Amphitheater, reaching it about 1140,
three hours after leaving the Capitol.
The military escort, except
for the artillery battery, drew up on line facing the amphitheater,
presented arms, and held the salute while the caisson was brought to
the entrance and the casket was carried to the apse inside the amphitheater.
[16]
The band, which had played
while the casket was borne to the apse, then entered the amphitheater
and was seated in the right colonnade. The artillery unit, Battery E
of the 3d Field Artillery, meanwhile moved to a position north of the
amphitheater in preparation for firing the gun salutes. After the entrance
ceremony, the other units of the escort reformed in preparation for
leaving the cemetery via the McClellan Gate at the conclusion of the
burial service. The escort was to depart immediately after President
Harding left the cemetery.
Over 5,000 tickets had been
distributed by the office of The Adjutant General for admission to the
Memorial Amphitheater. (Since the number of tickets exceeded the seating
capacity of the amphitheater, it is apparent that not all persons invited
were expected to attend.) All participating in the procession were given
tickets except the patriotic, fraternal, and welfare organizations,
which received tickets only for selected delegates. Participants who
held tickets entered the amphitheater after the body of the Unknown
Soldier had been taken to the apse; the remainder joined the public
standing behind ropes outside.
All others attending were
seated when the President arrived about 1155, and the ceremony began
as soon as he had taken his place in the apse. The Marine Band opened
the ceremony with the national anthem which was followed by the invocation,
delivered by the Army Chief of Chaplains, Col. John T. Axton. After
a bugler sounded attention three times, the assemblage observed a two-minute
period of silence.
At the conclusion of the
period of silence the audience, accompanied by the band, sang "America."
President Harding then delivered an address, paying tribute to the Unknown
Soldier and pleading for an end to war. After a hymn sung by a quartet
from the Metropolitan Opera Company, the President placed upon the casket
of the Unknown Soldier the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service
Cross. High-ranking representatives of other countries also presented
decorations of high order, some of which never before had been given
to a foreigner. Hymns and scriptural readings followed, and to conclude
the service the audience sang "Nearer My God to Thee."
In preparation for the burial
service, the Marine Band moved out of the amphitheater to a position
near the tomb. The band played "Our Honored Dead" as the casket,
preceded by the clergy, was moved in procession from the apse and placed
in the tomb. During this transfer the Army body bearers again were flanked
by the honorary pallbearers. Following the casket were President and
Mrs. Harding; Vice President and Mrs. Coolidge; Mrs. R. Emmett Digney,
who was the president of the American National War Mothers, and who
had lost a son in the war; and Mrs. Julia McCudden, who represented
the British War Mothers, and who had lost three sons. Heads of foreign
delegations were next in procession; behind them were the Secretaries
of State, War, and Navy, and military officials, both American and foreign.
The band played "Lead Kindly Light" as the rest of the audience
moved from the amphitheater to the area around the tomb.
[17]
BURIAL IN ARLINGTON CEMETERY
Bishop Brent read the burial
service. Congressman Fish, who had introduced the legislation leading
to the honors being paid the Unknown Soldier, next came forward and
laid a wreath at the tomb. Among the many others who then offered tribute
was Chief Plenty Coups, Chief of the Crow Nation. Representing all American
Indians, he laid his war bonnet and coup stick at the tomb.
The saluting battery then
fired three salvos as the casket was lowered into the crypt, the bottom
of which had been covered with a layer of soil from France. The bugler
sounded taps, and after the last note the battery fired twenty-one guns
in final salute to the Unknown Soldier of World War I.
[18]
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