1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:10,270 My 3 00:00:10,270 --> 00:00:12,270 name is tim frank . I'm a historian 4 00:00:12,270 --> 00:00:14,492 here at Arlington National Cemetery and 5 00:00:14,492 --> 00:00:16,326 today I'm going to take you on a 6 00:00:16,326 --> 00:00:18,381 journey through our rich history and 7 00:00:18,381 --> 00:00:20,492 explain the exhibits that are here at 8 00:00:20,492 --> 00:00:22,770 the memorial Amphitheater display room , 9 00:00:22,770 --> 00:00:24,826 at the tomb of the unknown soldier . 10 00:00:24,826 --> 00:00:26,881 Throughout the room we have displays 11 00:00:26,881 --> 00:00:28,770 and artifacts that illustrate our 12 00:00:28,770 --> 00:00:30,992 history here at Arlington and honor the 13 00:00:30,992 --> 00:00:33,760 unknown soldiers on a regular basis . 14 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:35,482 We receive visits from foreign 15 00:00:35,482 --> 00:00:37,649 dignitaries , primarily heads of state 16 00:00:37,649 --> 00:00:39,593 and military leaders who visit the 17 00:00:39,593 --> 00:00:41,649 cemetery on their way to meetings at 18 00:00:41,649 --> 00:00:43,704 the pentagon or at the White House . 19 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,007 Customarily , they lay a wreath at the 20 00:00:46,007 --> 00:00:48,062 tomb of the unknown soldier and then 21 00:00:48,062 --> 00:00:50,173 they come in here to the display room 22 00:00:50,173 --> 00:00:52,284 where cemetery leadership greets them 23 00:00:52,284 --> 00:00:54,396 and then turns them over to me or one 24 00:00:54,396 --> 00:00:56,680 of my fellow historians . Then we walk 25 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,750 them through our history . Arlington 26 00:00:59,750 --> 00:01:01,917 was once the home of George Washington 27 00:01:01,917 --> 00:01:04,139 Parke Custis adopted grandson of George 28 00:01:04,139 --> 00:01:05,917 Washington . When he died . His 29 00:01:05,917 --> 00:01:08,083 daughter mary Custis lee inherited the 30 00:01:08,083 --> 00:01:10,194 property and her husband robert E lee 31 00:01:10,194 --> 00:01:12,417 served as the executor of his father in 32 00:01:12,417 --> 00:01:14,880 law's will . On May 23 , the state of 33 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:17,047 Virginia seceded from the Union and on 34 00:01:17,047 --> 00:01:19,213 May 24 , the United States Army seized 35 00:01:19,213 --> 00:01:21,436 the property and has maintained it ever 36 00:01:21,436 --> 00:01:23,670 since . In 1864 . The government 37 00:01:23,670 --> 00:01:25,781 confiscated the property formerly for 38 00:01:25,781 --> 00:01:28,780 failure to pay taxes by May of 18 64 . 39 00:01:28,780 --> 00:01:31,002 The two nearby cemeteries soldiers home 40 00:01:31,002 --> 00:01:33,058 cemetery in Washington , D . C , and 41 00:01:33,058 --> 00:01:35,169 the alexandria National Cemetery were 42 00:01:35,169 --> 00:01:38,880 filled to capacity . So on May 13 , we 43 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:41,047 bury private William Christman here in 44 00:01:41,047 --> 00:01:43,830 what is now section 27 . One month 45 00:01:43,830 --> 00:01:46,290 later , on June 15 , 1864 , the 46 00:01:46,290 --> 00:01:48,570 Secretary of War Edwin Stanton formally 47 00:01:48,570 --> 00:01:50,348 set aside 200 acres to become a 48 00:01:50,348 --> 00:01:53,150 national cemetery . I want to point out 49 00:01:53,150 --> 00:01:54,817 that in those days it was not 50 00:01:54,817 --> 00:01:56,928 considered an honor to be buried at a 51 00:01:56,928 --> 00:01:58,761 national cemetery . It tended to 52 00:01:58,761 --> 00:02:00,706 indicate that your family couldn't 53 00:02:00,706 --> 00:02:02,872 afford the cost to return your remains 54 00:02:02,872 --> 00:02:04,761 home . It was pretty expensive to 55 00:02:04,761 --> 00:02:06,817 embalm and transport in those days . 56 00:02:06,817 --> 00:02:08,650 All of that changed in 1868 when 57 00:02:08,650 --> 00:02:10,761 General John Logan , Commander of the 58 00:02:10,761 --> 00:02:12,594 Grand Army of the Republic , the 59 00:02:12,594 --> 00:02:14,928 largest Civil War veterans organization , 60 00:02:14,928 --> 00:02:17,310 established decoration day . We now 61 00:02:17,310 --> 00:02:19,421 know decoration day as memorial day . 62 00:02:19,940 --> 00:02:22,107 The first decoration day was held here 63 00:02:22,107 --> 00:02:24,329 at Arlington at the Arlington house and 64 00:02:24,329 --> 00:02:26,329 thousands of people went around the 65 00:02:26,329 --> 00:02:28,440 cemetery decorating the graves of the 66 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:30,496 fallen with flowers , decoration day 67 00:02:30,496 --> 00:02:32,662 became so popular that we now credited 68 00:02:32,662 --> 00:02:34,884 as making Arlington national Cemetery . 69 00:02:34,884 --> 00:02:36,662 Our premier National Cemetery . 70 00:02:36,662 --> 00:02:38,884 Thousands of people would show up every 71 00:02:38,884 --> 00:02:40,940 year to hear the President speak and 72 00:02:40,940 --> 00:02:43,051 then they would spread out throughout 73 00:02:43,051 --> 00:02:45,107 the cemetery to place flowers on the 74 00:02:45,107 --> 00:02:47,162 graves of the fallen . In 1873 , the 75 00:02:47,162 --> 00:02:49,162 army quartermaster built this small 76 00:02:49,162 --> 00:02:50,996 amphitheater to house the crowds 77 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:53,407 Believe it or not . The army completed 78 00:02:53,407 --> 00:02:55,462 it in one month and it was ready for 79 00:02:55,462 --> 00:02:58,040 the 1873 Decoration Day . In those days 80 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:00,151 it was customary for the President to 81 00:03:00,151 --> 00:03:02,262 speak here at Arlington on decoration 82 00:03:02,262 --> 00:03:04,373 day and that's a tradition that still 83 00:03:04,373 --> 00:03:06,484 continues to this day . The President 84 00:03:06,484 --> 00:03:08,596 customarily lays a wreath at the tomb 85 00:03:08,596 --> 00:03:10,762 of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day 86 00:03:10,762 --> 00:03:12,984 and Veterans Day and then speaks to the 87 00:03:12,984 --> 00:03:15,096 crowds gathered in the amphitheater . 88 00:03:15,096 --> 00:03:17,096 The old amphitheater was a suitable 89 00:03:17,096 --> 00:03:19,096 venue for many years until one year 90 00:03:19,096 --> 00:03:21,151 over 20,000 people showed up here at 91 00:03:21,151 --> 00:03:23,060 Arlington , causing the Civil War 92 00:03:23,060 --> 00:03:25,171 veterans the push for a more suitable 93 00:03:25,171 --> 00:03:26,949 venue . Built here at Arlington 94 00:03:26,949 --> 00:03:30,450 National Cemetery 1913 . Congress 95 00:03:30,450 --> 00:03:32,561 authorized this memorial amphitheater 96 00:03:32,650 --> 00:03:35,850 and on October 13 , 1915 , President 97 00:03:35,850 --> 00:03:37,850 Woodrow Wilson laid the cornerstone 98 00:03:37,850 --> 00:03:40,690 over a copper memorabilia box . We 99 00:03:40,690 --> 00:03:42,640 actually opened the box in 2020 to 100 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:44,696 commemorate the 100th anniversary of 101 00:03:44,696 --> 00:03:46,418 the dedication of the memorial 102 00:03:46,418 --> 00:03:48,529 amphitheater , which opened in 1920 . 103 00:03:48,529 --> 00:03:50,584 The box was placed inside of another 104 00:03:50,584 --> 00:03:52,807 box to prevent damage to the contents . 105 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:54,929 The contents were items that were 106 00:03:54,929 --> 00:03:56,707 important to the members of the 107 00:03:56,707 --> 00:03:58,929 Memorial Amphitheater commission and to 108 00:03:58,929 --> 00:04:01,096 the United States . We found a bible , 109 00:04:01,096 --> 00:04:02,929 A signed photograph of President 110 00:04:02,929 --> 00:04:04,651 Woodrow Wilson , copies of the 111 00:04:04,651 --> 00:04:06,429 Declaration of Independence and 112 00:04:06,429 --> 00:04:08,710 Constitution with only 17 amendments 113 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:10,887 before prohibition and a woman's right 114 00:04:10,887 --> 00:04:13,660 to vote . Other items were silk flag , 115 00:04:13,670 --> 00:04:16,870 architectural drawings , coins , stamps , 116 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:19,260 a congressional directory and a City 117 00:04:19,260 --> 00:04:21,427 directory that happen to have my great 118 00:04:21,427 --> 00:04:23,427 grandfather's name in it . He was a 119 00:04:23,427 --> 00:04:25,538 clerk with the D . C . Government . I 120 00:04:25,538 --> 00:04:27,538 want to point out the architectural 121 00:04:27,538 --> 00:04:29,704 drawings in particular in the original 122 00:04:29,704 --> 00:04:31,593 plan . The architects envision an 123 00:04:31,593 --> 00:04:33,704 obelisk or a statue where the tomb of 124 00:04:33,704 --> 00:04:35,816 the unknown soldier is today But that 125 00:04:35,816 --> 00:04:37,927 went by the wayside just a few months 126 00:04:37,927 --> 00:04:37,440 after the dedication of the memorial 127 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,010 amphitheater . When in November of 1920 , 128 00:04:40,440 --> 00:04:42,384 the british and the french entered 129 00:04:42,384 --> 00:04:44,496 their unknown soldiers . The American 130 00:04:44,496 --> 00:04:46,662 people read about the grand ceremonies 131 00:04:46,662 --> 00:04:48,900 in London and in Paris on November 11 , 132 00:04:48,900 --> 00:04:51,067 1920 and they began writing to the war 133 00:04:51,067 --> 00:04:53,233 Department and the Congress suggesting 134 00:04:53,233 --> 00:04:55,122 that we select honor and enter an 135 00:04:55,122 --> 00:04:57,780 unknown american To lay at rest here in 136 00:04:57,780 --> 00:04:59,740 Arlington National Cemetery . As a 137 00:04:59,740 --> 00:05:02,300 result in October of 1921 , 4 teams 138 00:05:02,300 --> 00:05:04,467 went out to the four American military 139 00:05:04,467 --> 00:05:06,633 cemeteries in France . The dissenter , 140 00:05:06,633 --> 00:05:08,689 one unknown soldier at each of those 141 00:05:08,689 --> 00:05:11,340 cemeteries . Each team had to grave 142 00:05:11,340 --> 00:05:13,451 cards identifying the burial sites of 143 00:05:13,451 --> 00:05:15,396 unknown soldiers . They had strict 144 00:05:15,396 --> 00:05:17,229 instructions that if their first 145 00:05:17,229 --> 00:05:18,896 candidate was found with some 146 00:05:18,896 --> 00:05:21,062 identifying marks that they were to re 147 00:05:21,062 --> 00:05:23,118 enter him and dissenter , the second 148 00:05:23,118 --> 00:05:25,007 candidate in all four cases , the 149 00:05:25,007 --> 00:05:27,007 soldiers that is ensured first were 150 00:05:27,007 --> 00:05:28,729 unknown . They then had strict 151 00:05:28,729 --> 00:05:30,840 instructions to place each unknown in 152 00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:32,896 an identical casket at each cemetery 153 00:05:32,896 --> 00:05:34,951 and then proceed to the City hall in 154 00:05:34,951 --> 00:05:36,951 Chalon sur marne France for a final 155 00:05:36,951 --> 00:05:39,173 selection . Sergeant Edward Younger was 156 00:05:39,173 --> 00:05:41,007 given the honor of selecting the 157 00:05:41,007 --> 00:05:43,062 unknown soldier . He was a decorated 158 00:05:43,062 --> 00:05:45,007 soldier from World War One who was 159 00:05:45,007 --> 00:05:47,007 wounded twice before he entered the 160 00:05:47,007 --> 00:05:48,951 room . Teams went in and moved the 161 00:05:48,951 --> 00:05:50,951 caskets around so that no one could 162 00:05:50,951 --> 00:05:53,173 tell which cemeteries the unknowns came 163 00:05:53,173 --> 00:05:55,229 from . Then Sergeant Younger entered 164 00:05:55,229 --> 00:05:55,040 the room and quietly circled the 165 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:57,580 caskets . He placed the spray of white 166 00:05:57,580 --> 00:05:59,950 roses on one of them and that soldier 167 00:05:59,950 --> 00:06:02,006 became the unknown soldier for World 168 00:06:02,006 --> 00:06:04,310 War One . He was then placed in a 169 00:06:04,310 --> 00:06:06,532 special casket and the other three were 170 00:06:06,532 --> 00:06:08,532 re entered at the American military 171 00:06:08,532 --> 00:06:12,110 cemetery at Romany France . The unknown 172 00:06:12,110 --> 00:06:14,277 then made a journey to La France where 173 00:06:14,277 --> 00:06:16,277 he has presented french decorations 174 00:06:16,277 --> 00:06:18,277 before boarding uss Olympia for his 175 00:06:18,277 --> 00:06:20,520 final journey home . Olympia , which is 176 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:22,730 now a museum ship in philadelphia was 177 00:06:22,730 --> 00:06:25,008 the Navy's most famous ship of the day . 178 00:06:25,140 --> 00:06:27,196 After docking at the Washington Navy 179 00:06:27,196 --> 00:06:29,084 yard , he was taken to the United 180 00:06:29,084 --> 00:06:31,196 States capitol so the american people 181 00:06:31,196 --> 00:06:33,196 could pay their respects before his 182 00:06:33,196 --> 00:06:35,084 burial Here at Arlington National 183 00:06:35,084 --> 00:06:37,140 Cemetery on november 11th 1921 which 184 00:06:37,140 --> 00:06:39,084 was Armistice Day General john J . 185 00:06:39,084 --> 00:06:41,084 Pershing who commanded the american 186 00:06:41,084 --> 00:06:43,140 expeditionary forces in France place 187 00:06:43,140 --> 00:06:45,140 soil from France into the crypt and 188 00:06:45,140 --> 00:06:47,362 chief plenty coup a crow chief left his 189 00:06:47,362 --> 00:06:49,473 war bonnet and acoustics as a tribute 190 00:06:49,473 --> 00:06:52,250 to the unknown soldier . Mm 191 00:06:55,840 --> 00:06:57,951 President Harding presented the medal 192 00:06:57,951 --> 00:07:00,118 of honor and the british presented the 193 00:07:00,118 --> 00:07:02,340 victoria cross . Other allies presented 194 00:07:02,340 --> 00:07:04,618 their highest awards for valor as well . 195 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:07,040 The original Tomb was a flat marble 196 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:09,040 tomb completed just in time for the 197 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:11,650 funeral . In 1921 but later on , the 198 00:07:11,650 --> 00:07:13,483 army had a design competition to 199 00:07:13,483 --> 00:07:15,372 complete the tomb and the winning 200 00:07:15,372 --> 00:07:17,483 design was submitted by thomas Hudson 201 00:07:17,483 --> 00:07:20,610 jones and laura marriage 1932 . It was 202 00:07:20,610 --> 00:07:22,970 unveiled to the public . The figures 203 00:07:22,970 --> 00:07:25,026 that are carved in front of the tomb 204 00:07:25,026 --> 00:07:27,137 represent peace , victory and valor . 205 00:07:28,100 --> 00:07:30,322 At the end of World War to the american 206 00:07:30,322 --> 00:07:32,322 people once again requested that we 207 00:07:32,322 --> 00:07:34,489 honor an unknown soldier . By the time 208 00:07:34,489 --> 00:07:36,656 the decision was made , the korean war 209 00:07:36,656 --> 00:07:38,822 was already underway so it was decided 210 00:07:38,822 --> 00:07:40,822 to wait and enter both . An unknown 211 00:07:40,822 --> 00:07:42,878 soldier from World War Two and Korea 212 00:07:42,878 --> 00:07:44,989 1956 . Congress authorized the burial 213 00:07:44,989 --> 00:07:47,156 of the World War II and the Korean War 214 00:07:47,156 --> 00:07:49,820 Unknowns . In 1958 . Multiple teams 215 00:07:49,820 --> 00:07:51,931 spread out throughout the world where 216 00:07:51,931 --> 00:07:53,709 they selected the transatlantic 217 00:07:53,709 --> 00:07:55,487 candidate and the trans pacific 218 00:07:55,487 --> 00:07:57,542 candidate for World War Two . At the 219 00:07:57,542 --> 00:07:59,709 same time , they selected a korean war 220 00:07:59,709 --> 00:08:01,709 unknown in Hawaii . From among four 221 00:08:01,709 --> 00:08:03,764 unknowns . The three were then taken 222 00:08:03,764 --> 00:08:05,653 off the coast of Norfolk Virginia 223 00:08:05,653 --> 00:08:07,542 aboard . Uss Canberra for a final 224 00:08:07,542 --> 00:08:09,709 selection of the World War two unknown 225 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:11,840 transatlantic candidate and a trans 226 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:13,951 pacific candidate were brought into a 227 00:08:13,951 --> 00:08:15,896 separate missile compartment where 228 00:08:15,896 --> 00:08:18,007 teams move the caskets around so that 229 00:08:18,007 --> 00:08:19,951 no one could tell which theater of 230 00:08:19,951 --> 00:08:22,062 operations they came from . They were 231 00:08:22,062 --> 00:08:23,951 then placed on either side of the 232 00:08:23,951 --> 00:08:25,673 korean war Unknown for a final 233 00:08:25,673 --> 00:08:27,900 selection . Hospital Corpsman first 234 00:08:27,900 --> 00:08:29,956 class William charette was given the 235 00:08:29,956 --> 00:08:32,011 honor of selecting the World War Two 236 00:08:32,011 --> 00:08:34,178 Unknown and he placed a wreath next to 237 00:08:34,178 --> 00:08:36,400 the casket that was to the right of the 238 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:38,400 korean war unknown and that soldier 239 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:40,456 became the unknown soldier for World 240 00:08:40,456 --> 00:08:42,670 war Two . The soldier that was not 241 00:08:42,670 --> 00:08:44,892 selected was then buried at sea off the 242 00:08:44,892 --> 00:08:47,170 coast of Norfolk , Virginia , catholic 243 00:08:47,180 --> 00:08:49,320 protestant , jewish and an orthodox 244 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:51,980 Chaplin looked on . They then committed 245 00:08:51,980 --> 00:08:54,050 him to the sea , proceeded to the 246 00:08:54,050 --> 00:08:56,328 Washington navy yard and then to the U . 247 00:08:56,328 --> 00:08:58,550 S . Capital so that the american people 248 00:08:58,550 --> 00:09:00,772 could pay their respects to the unknown 249 00:09:00,772 --> 00:09:02,939 soldiers of World War Two and Korea On 250 00:09:02,939 --> 00:09:04,640 Memorial Day 1958 , President 251 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:06,862 Eisenhower presided over the funeral of 252 00:09:06,862 --> 00:09:08,640 the World War II and Korean War 253 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:10,696 unknowns . He presented the medal of 254 00:09:10,696 --> 00:09:12,529 honor to each unknown and what's 255 00:09:12,529 --> 00:09:14,751 interesting here is that he stood in as 256 00:09:14,751 --> 00:09:16,807 the next of kin of the World War Two 257 00:09:16,807 --> 00:09:18,973 unknown and Vice President Nixon stood 258 00:09:18,973 --> 00:09:21,196 in as the next of kin of the korean war 259 00:09:21,196 --> 00:09:23,084 unknown . They accepted the flags 260 00:09:23,084 --> 00:09:25,251 draped the casket as any family member 261 00:09:25,251 --> 00:09:27,580 would today at a military funeral On 262 00:09:27,580 --> 00:09:30,190 Veterans Day 1978 , President Jimmy 263 00:09:30,190 --> 00:09:33,320 Carter and Max Cleland Administrator of 264 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:35,264 the Department of Veterans Affairs 265 00:09:35,340 --> 00:09:37,284 presented a bronze plaque to honor 266 00:09:37,284 --> 00:09:40,810 Vietnam veterans Later on in 1980 for 267 00:09:40,820 --> 00:09:42,931 President Ronald Reagan presided over 268 00:09:42,931 --> 00:09:44,820 the funeral of Vietnam Unknown on 269 00:09:44,820 --> 00:09:47,042 Memorial Day and presented him with the 270 00:09:47,042 --> 00:09:49,430 Medal of Honor . He also stood in as 271 00:09:49,430 --> 00:09:52,570 the next of kin 1998 . He was 272 00:09:52,570 --> 00:09:54,403 identified as first Lieutenant , 273 00:09:54,403 --> 00:09:56,570 Michael Blassie of the Air Force using 274 00:09:56,570 --> 00:09:58,459 the new DNA technology and he was 275 00:09:58,459 --> 00:10:00,514 returned to his family . He was then 276 00:10:00,514 --> 00:10:02,292 buried at jefferson barracks in 277 00:10:02,292 --> 00:10:05,380 Missouri , 1999 . The empty crypt was 278 00:10:05,380 --> 00:10:07,602 rededicated to honour America's missing 279 00:10:07,602 --> 00:10:09,660 personnel and due to advances in DNA 280 00:10:09,660 --> 00:10:11,493 technology , there will never be 281 00:10:11,493 --> 00:10:13,540 another unknown soldier . As I 282 00:10:13,540 --> 00:10:15,651 mentioned earlier , the original tomb 283 00:10:15,651 --> 00:10:17,762 was a flat marble tomb and believe it 284 00:10:17,762 --> 00:10:19,818 or not , there wasn't always a guard 285 00:10:19,818 --> 00:10:21,818 here . After his burial . In 1921 , 286 00:10:21,818 --> 00:10:23,984 correspondent started pouring into the 287 00:10:23,984 --> 00:10:25,984 War Department suggesting that they 288 00:10:25,984 --> 00:10:27,984 have some guard here at the tomb to 289 00:10:27,984 --> 00:10:30,151 keep tourists from crowding around the 290 00:10:30,151 --> 00:10:32,207 tomb and being disrespectful . There 291 00:10:32,207 --> 00:10:34,429 was a civilian guard here at the time , 292 00:10:34,429 --> 00:10:33,940 but his duty was to walk around the 293 00:10:33,940 --> 00:10:36,350 amphitheater and help tourists . And it 294 00:10:36,350 --> 00:10:38,517 was not specifically to watch the tomb 295 00:10:38,517 --> 00:10:40,683 of the unknown soldier . The army sent 296 00:10:40,683 --> 00:10:42,406 someone out to investigate and 297 00:10:42,406 --> 00:10:44,350 determine that while they were not 298 00:10:44,350 --> 00:10:46,517 desecrating the tomb , there should be 299 00:10:46,517 --> 00:10:48,739 a guard here to make sure tourists were 300 00:10:48,739 --> 00:10:50,950 respectful . 1925 , civilian guard was 301 00:10:50,950 --> 00:10:53,061 placed during daylight hours to watch 302 00:10:53,061 --> 00:10:55,890 her over the Tomb , 1926 , the army 303 00:10:55,890 --> 00:10:57,890 assigned soldiers to guard the tomb 304 00:10:57,890 --> 00:11:01,450 also during daylight hours , 1937 the 305 00:11:01,450 --> 00:11:03,800 army switched to a 24 hour guard . And 306 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:06,060 in 1948 the third empty regiment , the 307 00:11:06,060 --> 00:11:07,893 old guard was given the honor of 308 00:11:07,893 --> 00:11:09,838 guarding the tomb and they've been 309 00:11:09,838 --> 00:11:12,800 guarding it ever since 24 hours a day . 310 00:11:12,870 --> 00:11:16,720 Seven days a week . 365 days a year in 311 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:18,887 hurricanes and blizzards . In the dead 312 00:11:18,887 --> 00:11:20,998 of night and the stifling heat of the 313 00:11:20,998 --> 00:11:22,942 Washington summers , they are here 314 00:11:22,942 --> 00:11:24,609 guarding the unknown soldiers 315 00:11:26,340 --> 00:11:28,800 1958 the army established a Tomb guard 316 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:30,800 identification badge And since that 317 00:11:30,810 --> 00:11:33,570 time over 680 soldiers have earned that 318 00:11:33,570 --> 00:11:35,960 honor . It takes up to nine months to 319 00:11:35,970 --> 00:11:38,081 earn the badge . And soldiers must go 320 00:11:38,081 --> 00:11:40,192 through a series of tests on cemetery 321 00:11:40,192 --> 00:11:42,248 and to my knowledge on their uniform 322 00:11:42,540 --> 00:11:44,429 appearance and they're outside of 323 00:11:44,429 --> 00:11:46,660 performance . Once they successfully 324 00:11:46,660 --> 00:11:48,771 complete this process , they are then 325 00:11:48,771 --> 00:11:50,993 awarded the guard . Give me the unknown 326 00:11:50,993 --> 00:11:53,216 soldier identification badge which they 327 00:11:53,216 --> 00:11:55,271 can wear for life . It is one of the 328 00:11:55,271 --> 00:11:57,438 rarest badges in the army and they can 329 00:11:57,438 --> 00:11:59,660 be revoked at any time while they're on 330 00:11:59,660 --> 00:12:01,716 active duty or when they retire . If 331 00:12:01,716 --> 00:12:01,690 they do something to bring dishonor on 332 00:12:01,690 --> 00:12:04,610 the tomb or the army and in the tomb 333 00:12:04,610 --> 00:12:06,721 quarters there's a wall of names that 334 00:12:06,721 --> 00:12:08,832 shows the name of the soldier and the 335 00:12:08,832 --> 00:12:11,054 badge number . And if they do something 336 00:12:11,054 --> 00:12:12,888 that brings this honor that that 337 00:12:12,888 --> 00:12:12,860 soldier's name will be scratched off 338 00:12:13,340 --> 00:12:15,507 the plaque will be removed and will be 339 00:12:15,507 --> 00:12:17,673 replaced by another plaque that simply 340 00:12:17,673 --> 00:12:19,896 says revoked the badge number and their 341 00:12:19,896 --> 00:12:22,062 name will never be spoken again in the 342 00:12:22,062 --> 00:12:24,173 tim corners . The tomb of the unknown 343 00:12:24,173 --> 00:12:26,229 soldier was originally a place where 344 00:12:26,229 --> 00:12:28,173 families whose loved ones have not 345 00:12:28,173 --> 00:12:30,396 returned from World War . I could visit 346 00:12:30,396 --> 00:12:32,507 and stand at the tomb and potentially 347 00:12:32,507 --> 00:12:34,451 feel that this was their husband , 348 00:12:34,451 --> 00:12:36,673 their brother , their uncle there son . 349 00:12:36,940 --> 00:12:39,100 It provided a one place in the United 350 00:12:39,100 --> 00:12:41,322 States where these families could go to 351 00:12:41,322 --> 00:12:43,378 mourn Over the next century as other 352 00:12:43,378 --> 00:12:45,378 unknowns joined the unknown soldier 353 00:12:45,378 --> 00:12:47,433 from World war families continued to 354 00:12:47,433 --> 00:12:49,990 come here . Nowadays . It's more of a 355 00:12:49,990 --> 00:12:52,157 place where americans can collectively 356 00:12:52,157 --> 00:12:54,379 come here and honor our service members 357 00:12:54,379 --> 00:12:56,379 who fell in our wars throughout our 358 00:12:56,379 --> 00:12:59,030 history And over the last century , 359 00:12:59,030 --> 00:13:01,040 presidents and prime ministers , 360 00:13:01,050 --> 00:13:03,490 families and other dignitaries have 361 00:13:03,490 --> 00:13:05,960 come here to lay a wreath and place 362 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:08,290 Mementos here in the display room . 363 00:13:08,300 --> 00:13:10,411 Throughout the room , you'll see many 364 00:13:10,411 --> 00:13:12,467 Mementos that were left beginning on 365 00:13:12,467 --> 00:13:14,660 November 11 , 1921 to the present day 366 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:17,462 and in this case here we highlight some 367 00:13:17,462 --> 00:13:19,629 of the more recent gifts from heads of 368 00:13:19,629 --> 00:13:21,851 state ministers , the defense and other 369 00:13:21,851 --> 00:13:24,018 dignitaries who took time to honor the 370 00:13:24,018 --> 00:13:26,129 unknowns . Here at Arlington National 371 00:13:26,129 --> 00:13:28,351 Cemetery . I hope you have enjoyed this 372 00:13:28,351 --> 00:13:30,407 walking tour of the display room and 373 00:13:30,407 --> 00:13:32,296 that it inspires you to visit our 374 00:13:32,296 --> 00:13:34,407 website at Arlington cemetery dot mil 375 00:13:34,407 --> 00:13:36,518 forward slash education where you can 376 00:13:36,518 --> 00:13:38,573 learn more about our rich history or 377 00:13:38,573 --> 00:13:40,629 visit here in person and explore our 378 00:13:40,629 --> 00:13:42,160 grounds .