National Veterans Awareness Ride (NVAR)

The National Verterans Awareness Ride includes eleven wreath-laying ceremonies as we travel across from Sacramento, California, to Washington D.C. Twice we have a 21-gun salute. Each ceremony is special. Each invokes a natural solemnity, well deserved given the fact that each veteran that rests there—whether they perished as a result of their service or returned home and passed later—have all sacrificed for us. They defended the freedoms we enjoy today.

The last of the ceremonies for the NVAR ride is held at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This year we will be having a slightly different ceremony. Rather than select four from our numbers to be given the honor of laying a wreath, each of us will be able to approach the crypts on the plaza and lay a single rose. We’ll walk across the plaza in-between the guard on duty and the marble markers on the three crypts inset into the plaza floor just in front of the large sarcophagus.

Since we will be so up-close-and-personal to The Tomb this year, I thought you might enjoy some background around its history, the tomb itself, and the guards. Some of these little-known facts surrounding The Tomb or the guards may seem like trivia, but I assure you, none of it is trivial.

The Tomb – History

• The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was first instituted in 1921 following the lead of England’s Unknown Warrior Tomb, instituted in 1920.
• In 1921 four unknown American were exhumed from burials in France and returned to the US. They lay in state in the Capital rotunda until November 10^th and then one casket was driven in a caisson to Arlington National Cemetery followed by over 100 military, members of the Cabinet, Senate, Congress, Supreme Court, and all living Presidents.
• The original WWI tomb was located near the plaza in a smaller sarcophagus. The sarcophagus was relocated to its current position in 1931. The huge slabs of marble that make up the current sarcophagus were mines in Colorado, sawn in Vermont, traveled by train to D.C. and carved on site.
• The current resting place is high on a hill within the Cemetery, overlooking the Potomac River. The cemetery grounds began as 200 acers following the Civil War, and has grown over the years until today it is 639 acres.
• Over 400,000 military and their immediate family members reside in the Arlington National Cemetery, along with Heads of State, and other notable Americans.
• The World War I “Unknown” is a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the Victoria Cross, and several other foreign nations’ highest service awards. The U.S. Unknowns from World War II and Korea have also received the U.S. Medal of Honor.
• Since then, all Unknowns have been awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor.
• Other nations also have national burial sites for Unknowns from the First World War (also known as World War I and the Great War), such as England, France, Canada, Portugal, and Italy. The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is in England and another Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is in France. All Unknowns in other countries have been awarded a U.S. Medal of Honor.

The Tomb

• The current sarcophagus stands above ground and holds the remains of a soldier from WWI. In 1956 Unknowns from WWII and Korea were added, followed later by a third crypt for Vietnam. These three crypts have marble surfaces flush with the plaza surface.
• Since the initial placement of the Vietnam Unknown, DNA identified the soldier and his remains were returned to his family.
• The slab over what used to be labeled the Vietnam crypt, has since been replaced. The original inscription of “Vietnam” has been changed to “Honoring and Keeping Faith with America’s Missing Servicemen 1958 – 1975” as a reminder of the commitment of the Armed Forces to the fullest possible accounting of missing service members—POW and MIA. As a result, it was decided that the crypt would remain vacant.
• On the east end of the sarcophagus is carved Greek symbols for Peace, Victory, and Valor. The west end, visible from the viewing steps, is carved: HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD.

The Guards

• At The Tomb, an elaborate ceremony called the Changing of the Guard takes place every half hour from April through September, and hourly from October through March.
• The guards take 21 steps across the mat and pause 21 seconds each time they take a turn. The significance of 21 aligns with the 21-gun salute, the highest honor one can receive.
• The soldier “walking the mat” does not wear rank insignia, so as not to outrank the Unknowns, whatever their ranks may have been. They have a separate uniform (without rank) that is worn when they actually guard the Unknowns or are “posted.” Non-commissioned officers (usually the Relief Commander and Assistant Relief Commanders), do wear insignia of their rank when changing the guard only.
• Those who “walk the mat” at The Tomb, are the 4^th Battalion 3^rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. The 1^st Battalion 3^rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, cover other military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery—of which there are as many as 15 to 25 a week—as well as guarding other ceremonies, performing other 21-gun salutes, guarding headquarter locations in Washington, and guarding the President.
• The Old Guard refers to all three Battalions within the 3rd Infantry Regiment—the 1^st, 2^nd, and 4^th. It is the oldest regiment still active in the Regular Army. The Old Guard traces its history to the First American Regiment organized in 1784 under command of Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harmer, a veteran of the American Revolution. It has been the official ceremonial unit of the U.S. Army since 1948.
• Although the 3^rd Infantry Regiment primarily functions in a ceremonial role, it is an infantry unit and thus is required to meet standards for certification in its combat role. The unit also trains for its support role to civil authorities in a wide range of scenarios and for deployments in support of overseas contingency operations.

Thank a Veteran today,