Tomb of the Unknown Soldier


The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier refers to a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and to the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-profile national monuments. Throughout history, many soldiers have died in war with their remains being unidentified. Following World War I, a movement arose to commemorate these soldiers with a single tomb, containing the body of one such unidentified soldier.

History

France and the United Kingdom

During the First World War, the British and French armies who were allies during the war jointly decided to bury soldiers themselves. In the UK, under the Imperial War Graves Commission, the Reverend David Railton had seen a grave marked by a rough cross while serving in the British Army as a chaplain on the Western Front, which bore the pencil-written legend "An Unknown British Soldier".
He suggested the creation at a national level of a symbolic funeral and burial of an "Unknown Warrior", proposing that the grave should in the UK include a national monument in the form of what is usually, but not in this particular case, a headstone. The idea received the support of the Dean of Westminster, Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and later from King George V, responding to a wave of public support. At the same time, a similar concern grew in France. In November 1916, a local officer of Le Souvenir français proposed the idea of burying "an unknown soldier" in the Panthéon. A formal bill was presented in Parliament in November 1918. The decision was voted into law on September 1919.
The United Kingdom and France conducted services connected with their 'monumental' graves on Armistice Day 1920. In the UK, the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior was created at Westminster Abbey, while in France La tombe du soldat inconnu was placed in the Arc de Triomphe.

Other countries

The idea of a symbolic Tomb of the Unknown Soldier then spread to other countries. In 1921, the United States unveiled its own Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Portugal its Túmulo do Soldado Desconhecido, and Italy its La tomba del Milite Ignoto. Other nations have followed the practice and created their own tombs.
In Chile and Ukraine, second 'unknown tombs' were unveiled to commemorate The Unknown Sailor.

Symbolism

The Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers typically contain the remains of a dead soldier who is unidentified. These remains are considered impossible to identify, and so serve as a symbol for all of a country's unknown dead wherever they fell in the war being remembered. The anonymity of the entombed soldier is the key symbolism of the monument; it could be the tomb of anyone who fell in service of the nation, and therefore serves as a monument symbolizing all of the sacrifices.

Identification

At least one unknown soldier has been identified by DNA analysis. This was an airman from the Vietnam War.

Examples

Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers from around the world and various wars include the following:
CountriesLocationImageDescription
Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos AiresTomb of the Unknown Soldier of the Independence
National Flag Memorial in RosarioTomb of the Unknown Soldier
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Victory Park in YerevanTomb of the Unknown Soldier
Australian War Memorial in CanberraThe tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Outer Palace Gate at the Heldenplatz in ViennaWithin the 1818 neo-classical gateway to the Hofburg, the former Imperial Palace.
Jatiyo Smriti Soudho in Savar UpazilaJatiyo Sriti Shoudho or National Martyrs' Memorial is the national monument of Bangladesh is the symbol in the memory of the valour and the sacrifice of all those who gave their lives in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, many of whom were buried in mass graves in that park.The monument is located in Savar, about 35 km north-west of the capital, Dhaka. It was designed by Syed Mainul Hossain.
Shikha Onirban or 'Eternal Flame' in DhakaShikha Onirban was built to commemorate the valour and the sacrifices of Bangladesh Armed Forces Soldiers died in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.
Congress Column in BrusselsThe Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the base of the location.
Monumento al Soldado Desconocido in La PazThe Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, center piece of the location.
Monument to the dead of World War II, Flamengo Park in Rio de Janeiro.The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on the monument's platform.
Brazilian Monument and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of World War II, near Pistoia, Italy.Votive Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, with monument pavilion.
Monument to the Unknown Soldier in Sofia
Monument to the Unknown Soldier in Haskovo.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial, in OttawaThe tomb is located next to the National War Memorial in Confederation Square in Ottawa. It contains the remains of a Canadian soldier from World War I, who was buried near Vimy Ridge.
General Manuel Baquedano Square in SantiagoContains the remains of a soldier who died in 1881 during the War of the Pacific.
Plaza de la Ciudadanía, SantiagoContains the remains of a soldier found in Perú. Died in 1881 during the War of the Pacific.
Cripta del Morro de Arica, AricaContains the remains of a soldier found in 1998. Died during the War of the Pacific.
Unknown Sailor MonumentA monument built in honor to the sailors that fought and died in the Battle of Iquique, a naval battle off the coast of Chile.
Plaza y Monumento de los Caídos on Centro Administrativo Nacional in Bogotá
National Monument on Vítkov Hill in PragueContains remains of an unknown Czechoslovak soldier fallen at the Battle of Zborov as well as an unknown Czechoslovak soldier fallen at the Battle of Dukla, a part of a larger memorial to all Czechoslovak soldiers.
Flag Square of Santo DomingoThe Arc of the Square contains the tomb of the soldier who died for the freedom of the Dominicans in the Dominican War of Independence.
Unknown Soldier Memorial in CairoAlso includes the tomb of President Anwar Sadat.
Alexandria Naval Unknown Soldier Memorial
Defence Forces Cemetery in Tallinn
Hietaniemi cemetery in HelsinkiIn the centre of the military cemetery are the tombs of the unknown soldier and Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile in Paris
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier behind Arch 22 in Banjul
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, TblisiLocated in Vake Park
Unter den Linden, BerlinWithin a 19th-century guardhouse, the Neue Wache.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Syntagma Square in Athens
  • Cenotaph located in front of the Greek Parliament on Syntagma Square in Athens. Two quotations by Thucydides, from Pericles' Funeral Oration, are inscribed on the retaining wall: Μία κλίνη κενὴ φέρεται ἐστρωμένη τῶν ἀφανῶν, and Ἀνδρῶν ἐπιφανῶν πᾶσα γῆ τάφος. The inscriptions flank a central sculpture in low relief, depicting a dying hoplite. The names of battlefields where Greeks have fought since independence are inscribed on the monument.
  • The monument is guarded round the clock by the Evzones of the Presidential Guard.
Heroes' Square in Budapest
Amar Jawan Jyoti, New DelhiBurning in a shrine under the arch of India Gate since 1971 is the Amar Jawan Jyoti which marks the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The shrine itself is a black marble cenotaph with a rifle placed on its barrel, crested by a soldier's helmet. Each face of the cenotaph has inscribed in gold the words "Amar Jawan" in Hindi. The Prime Minister of India pays homage to the country's fallen soldiers along with the Chiefs of Staff of each arm of the Armed Forces on each Republic Day of India.
The Pandu war cemetery at BandungThe Field of Honor is a memorial to the unknown soldier. There is also the Tomb of the Unknown Sailor in Kembang Kuning war cemetery in Surabaya.
Chizar, TehranIn Iran, unknown soldiers are buried in public places. Chizar is the largest of all.
Behesht Zahra, Tehran
The Monument to the Unknown Soldier, in Grand Festivities Square, Zawra Park, BaghdadThree monuments in Zawra Park commemorate Iraq's fallen soldiers; The Monument to the Unknown Soldier, the Victory Arch and the Al-Shaheed Monument. The Monument to the Unknown Soldier was constructed between 1979 and 1982, and replaced an earlier Unknown Soldier's Monument built in 1959 in a different location, but dismantled when the current monument was inaugurated.
National Memorial Hall For Israel's Fallen, Mount Herzl in JerusalemThe Eternal Flame Monument to Unknown Soldiers.
Piazza Venezia in RomeThe Tomb of the Milite Ignoto in the Altare della Patria.
Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo
Ryozen Kannon in Kyoto
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the World in Ogose, Saitama
Dai Heiwa Kinen Tō in Tondabayashi, Osaka
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in AmmanSource:
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Lebanon, Beirut, MathafThe Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Lebanon represents the forming and independence of the Lebanese Armed Forces from the French Army in 1943. The tomb also commemorates soldiers of the Legion of Orient and the Army of the Levant during the French Mandate of Lebanon from 1920 to 1943. The cenotaph in the middle includes a Cedrus libani tree surrounded by a laurel; the main symbol of Roman Legions. Around the cedar tree and laurel reads in Arabic : "Glory and Immortality for our Martyred Heroes". Behind the cenotaph are original Roman Columns.
Vienybės Square in KaunasTomb of Nežinomas kareivis, with remains of soldier who died in fights against Bolsheviks in 1919.
National Monument in Kuala LumpurCompleted in 1966 to commemorate combatants who fought against Japanese occupation of pre-independence Malaysia in World War II and the Malayan Races Liberation Army insurgency during the Malayan Emergency. Also includes a pre-independence cenotaph, which was shifted from its original location closer to the old town of Kuala Lumpur, commemorating the war dead of World War I, World War II and the Malayan Emergency.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Curepipe--
Heroes' Acre in WindhoekThe Tomb of the Unknown Soldier contains soil from Cassinga and Oshatotwa from the Namibian War of Independence.
Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, National War Memorial in Wellington-
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Eagle Square, Abuja.Statue of the Unknown Soldier, at the Eagle Square, Abuja, formerly located in Idumota, Lagos as Soldier Idumota, the tomb was relocated to Abuja.
Plaza Bolivar in LimaContains the remains of a soldier who died in 1881 during the War of the Pacific.
Libingan ng mga Bayani in TaguigContains the remains of Filipino soldiers who have joined the military and served on the Philippine Revolution, Philippine–American War and World War II.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Marshall Józef Piłsudski Square in WarsawConstructed as the arcade of Saxon Palace, which was destroyed by the Germans in 1944. Contains the remains of a soldier who died between 1918 and 1920.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Batalha Monastery
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Carol Park in Bucharest
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Alexander Garden in Moscow
Monument to the Unknown Hero on Mt. Avala near BelgradeMemorial was built on the place where an unknown Serbian World War I soldier was buried.
Monument to the Unknown French Soldier, French Revolution Square in Ljubljana
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, MogadishuA monument erected in honour of the Somali men and women who died in defense of the Somali Republic. It's popularly known as Daljirka Dahsoon, and it is an important landmark in Mogadishu.
Monumento a los Caídos por España, Plaza de la Lealtad in MadridPopularly known as the Obelisco, it is built on the same place where General Joachim Murat ordered the execution of numerous Spaniards after the Dos de Mayo Uprising of 1808. Originally inaugurated on 2 May 1840, it was re-inaugurated on 22 November 1985, by Juan Carlos I of Spain as a remembrance to all those who gave their life for Spain. An eternal flame fuelled by gas has been constantly burning on the front of the monument.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Damascus
Çanakkale Martyrs' Memorial on GallipoliErected for the unknown martyrs of the Çanakkale Front, which was the arena for the Battle of Gallipoli during World War I. Opened on 20 August 1960. Another monument at the same site is for the foreign soldiers lost in the same clash.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Dnieper Park in Kiev
Monument to the Unknown Sailor, Shevchenko Park in Odessa
Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, Westminster Abbey in London
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia
Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier, Washington Square in Philadelphia
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution
Civil War Unknowns Monument, Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VirginiaContains the remains of 2,211 unknown Union and Confederate soldiers from Civil War battlefields.
Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier at Beauvoir in Biloxi, Mississippi-
El Entrevero at Plaza Fabini in MontevideoInaugurated in 1967 in honor of the Oriental Revolution its inscription reads in spanish: "The Fatherland pays tribute to its anonymous heroes, who in the solitude of the fields lost their lives in the sacrifice for their ideals".
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Mustaqillik Maydoni in TashkentCreated in 1975, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is dedicated to the Uzbek soldiers who served in the Red Army during World War II.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Carabobo Field, CaraboboContains the remains of a Venezuelan soldier who died in 1824 during the Battle of Ayacucho.
Monument of Heroic Martyrs in HanoiThe monument to Heroic Martyrs is dedicated to the wounded and fallen soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the struggle for Vietnam national liberation, independence, freedom and the happiness of the people.
Statue of the Unknown Soldier at the National Heroes Acre, Harare