Public access to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was only for two days.
For 100 years, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has honored the sacrifice of the American Armed Forces. And for the first time in 96 years, the public was able to walk on the plaza and pay their respects.
Public access to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was only for two days. "We do not anticipate holding another event in our lifetimes in which the public will be able to approach the Tomb in this manner," they noted in an official statement.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was first dedicated on November 11, 1921. The sacred memorial site is symbolic of all the unidentified soldiers and holds the remains of unknown U.S. service members from World War I, the Korean War, and World War II.
"Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God," an inscription at the location reads.
Visitors like 96-year-old Darrell Bush, a former Army staff sergeant who fought on the western front in WWII, visited and paid respects with flowers and a salute to their fallen brothers-in-arms.
In 1921, President Warren Harding chose Chief Plenty Coups of the Crow Nation to represent all Indigenous people at the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
One hundred years later, the Crow Nation followed Chief Plenty Coups' path in honoring the Unknown.
Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place of about 400,000 veterans and their families, dating back to the Revolutionary War.
