(W.W. ll AND KOREAN
UNKNOWN SOLDIER)
PAGE TWO
(W.W. ll AND KOREAN
UNKNOWN SOLDIER)
PAGE TWO
On August 3, 1956,
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill to select and pay tribute
to the Unknown Soldiers of World War II and Korea on Memorial
Day1958.
American Cemetery at Epinal, France
While planning went on in
Washington, the selection process began overseas. The bodies of thirteen
unknown American servicemen who had fought in the transatlantic phase of
World War II were exhumed at cemeteries in Europe and Africa and shipped
in identical caskets to the U.S. cemetery at Epinal, France. On 12 May
Major General Edward J. O'Neill, representing the Commander in Chief,
U.S. Army, Europe, chose one of these; the others were
reburied.
USS BLANDY
The casket selected was flown to Naples, Italy, where it was transferred
to the USS Blandy (DD-943), an Atlantic Fleet destroyer. The Blandy then
left Naples to rendezvous with the missile cruiser USS Canberra (CAG-2)
off the Virginia capes where the final choice of the unknown soldier of
World War II was to be made.
Fort McKinley American Cemetery
In the selection of the serviceman
from the Pacific theater, the bodies of two unknown Americans were taken
from the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii and four were taken
from the Fort McKinley American Cemetery and Memorial in the
Philippines.
The six caskets were then moved to
Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, where on 16 May 1958 Colonel Glenn T.
Eagleston, an Air Force officer, chose one.
National Cemetery of the Pacific
A day earlier, on 15 May,
the bodies of four unknown Americans killed in the Korean War were
removed from the National Cemetery of the Pacific, and Master Sergeant
Ned Lyle of the Army chose the one to be honored as the unknown soldier
of the Korean War .
USS BOSTON
The two
caskets selected were flown to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; the others were
buried in Hawaii. In Cuba the caskets were placed aboard the USS Boston
(CAG-I), which then sailed for the waters off the Virginia capes for the
selection of the unknown soldier of World War II.
USS BOSTON AND USS CANBERRA
The Blandy, Canberra, and
Boston rendezvoused off the Virginia capes on 26 May. First the casket
of the unknown serviceman from the European theater of World War II was
transferred from the Blandy to the Boston.
The caskets bearing the World War II
dead were placed on either side of the casket of the Korean War soldier.
After brief speeches by Navy officials, Charette marched to his left
around the row of caskets, saluted, then lifted a floral wreath from a
nearby stand, and marched back to face the caskets astern. After
glancing left, he stepped to the right, placed the wreath at the casket
to denote his selection, and saluted.
U.S Coast Guard Cutter Ingham
Following the selection
ceremony, the caskets of the Korean War and World War II servicemen were
transferred to the Blandy which, escorted by the USCG Ingham (WPG-35),
sailed for the Naval Gun Factory in Washington, D.C. The World War II
soldier not chosen was then prepared for burial at sea while the
Canberra moved eight miles offshore to meet the requirements for deep
sea burial.
As the body was committed to the sea,
the bugler sounded taps and eight marines fired three volleys. The
bugler then blew release and the Canberra turned back toward shore
.
Blandy arrived at the Naval Gun Factory at 1235 on 27 May. The caskets
of the two unknown servicemen, accompanied by a guard of honor, then
were brought from below to the fantail ceremonial area in preparation
for the reception ceremony the next day. On May 28 troops and officials
began to take stations for the ceremony at 0840. Aboard ship sailors
manned the rail while officers and petty officers formed ranks aft The
U.S. Navy Band played hymns as attending dignitaries, led by the
Secretaries of Defense and the Treasury, took their places. The colors
arrived next and were presented to the honor cordon, the assembled
dignitaries, and the unknown soldiers. At 0925, as the Navy Band
concluded the hymns, the body bearers, divided into two groups, each led
by two chaplains, boarded the ship to remove the caskets. All troops
saluted when the bearers were in position. The Navy Band sounded four
ruffles and flourishes, then played hymns as the caskets were borne from
the Blandy; the World War II unknown soldier was taken ashore first. The
caskets were carried to hearses at the end of the pier and placed inside
simultaneously.
The U.S. Capitol Building
Following another salute, the procession started
moving slowly toward the U.S. Capitol Building. A 21-gun salute was
fired by a Navy battery as the procession departed. Inside the Capitol
rotunda, standing six deep in a semicircle around the south end, were
about 150 members of Congress, officials of executive departments,
justices of the Supreme Court, members of the diplomatic corps,
officials of the District of Columbia, the press, and a large group from
the armed forces. The two catafalques were in the center of the rotunda.
Arlington National Cemetery
W.W. ll Unknown Crypt Korean War Unknown Crypt At the same time, the dates 1917-1918 were carved in the
pavement in front of the tomb of the Unknown Soldier of World War
I. Please continue to Page Three to read about the Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam War--Mary
Vice President Richard M. Nixon, as
president of the Senate, was escorted by an Army officer to a position
directly in front of the caskets. An enlisted man acting as one of the
wreath bearers met him and assisted him in placing a wreath at the head
of the biers. After they had withdrawn, Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn
and the dean of the diplomatic corps, Dr. Guillermo Sevilla-Sacasa of
Nicaragua, also placed wreaths. Shortly after the wreath-laying ceremony
ended, the public was admitted to the rotunda. 
The unknown dead lay in state from mid morning
on 28 May to 1300 on 30 May. At that precise time the body bearers
carried the two caskets out of the Rotunda, down the Capitol steps,
secured them to identical caissons, and began the journey to Arlington
National Cemetery. President Eisenhower did not deliver an address at
either of the two ceremonies inside the amphiteatre at Arlington, but he
did present the Medal of Honor to each of the Unknown
Soldiers.
Then the bodies were carried to the
plaza where a large crowd had gathered awaiting the final ceremony.
After another brief ceremony the Army band played hymns and the bugler
sounded taps as the crowd began to leave. Later that evening after the
cemetery had closed the two Unknown Soldiers were interred. The body
bearers stood behind a guide chain and saluted as the caskets were
lowered and memorial stones were placed over the crypts. This was the
last rite in the ceremonies that throughout the day had involved some
4,800 members of the armed forces.
The final act, not part of any planned
ceremony, took place on June 2,1958. On that date, each crypt was filled
with a concrete slab and topped with white marble. The marble tops bore
only dates: 1941-1945 for the Unknown American of World War II,
1950-1953 for the Unknown American of the Korean War.
