Understably, just about every person who visits Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) wants to visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers (yes, there’s more than one) and witness the changing of the guard. We did so during our Tours By Foot tour. As I’ve told you, it was an incredibly hot day. At one point, my phone gave me the “phone too hot to function” message and I couldn’t take photos for a short time.

Tomb of the Unknowns Facts

On Veterans Day 1921, President Warren G. Harding presided over an interment ceremony at ANC for an unknown soldier who died during World War I. After that, three more soldiers were added to the Tomb of the Unknowns memorial but one of them has since been disinterred and moved.

Thanks to the folks over at Mental Floss, I have some facts about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers that I think you’ll find interesting.

First, four random unknown soldier candidates were selected for the World War I crypt, exhumed from four different WW I American cemeteries in France. U.S. Army Sgt. Edward F. Younger, wounded in combat and a Distinguished Service Medal recipient, selected a soldier for burial at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

After the four identical caskets were lined up for his inspection, Younger picked the third casket from the left by placing a spray of white roses on it. The chosen soldier was transported to the U.S. on the USS Olympia, while the other three were reburied at Meuse Argonne American Cemetery in France.

In choosing two unknown soldiers to represent World War II, one served in the European Theater and the other served in the Pacific Theater. The Navy’s only active-duty Medal of Honor recipient, Hospitalman First Class William R. Charette, chose one of the identical caskets to go on to Arlington. The other was given a burial at sea.

For the Korean War, the soldiers were disinterred from the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii. Army Master Sgt. Ned Lyle chose the casket. Along with the unknown soldier from WWII, the unknown Korean War soldier lay in the Capitol Rotunda from May 28 to May 30, 1958.

In 1984, Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Allan Jay Kellogg, Jr. chose the Vietnam War representative during a ceremony at Pearl Harbor. But in this case, he would not remain unknown.

Because of advances in DNA testing, in 1998 scientists identified the remains of the Vietnam War soldier as Air Force First Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie. He was shot down near An Loc, Vietnam in 1972. After his identification, Blassie’s family had him moved to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Mo. for burial.

Instead of adding another unknown soldier to the Vietnam War crypt, the crypt cover was replaced with one bearing the inscription, “Honoring and Keeping Faith with America’s Missing Servicemen, 1958-1975”.

Becoming a Tomb Guard

Our guide shared with us that members of the Tomb Guard who watch over the Tomb of the Unknowns must apply for the position. If chosen, the applicant must pass tests on weapons, ceremonial steps, cadence, military bearing, uniform preparation, and orders.

Tomb guards must also pass a knowledge test on their memorization — including punctuation — of 35 pages on the history of the tomb. Once chosen, guards “walk the mat” in front of the tomb for anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. They work in 24-hour shifts. However, when they aren’t walking the mat, they’re in the living quarters beneath it. This gives them time to complete training and prepare their uniforms, which can take up to eight hours. Tomb guards serve for an average of 18 months.

War Hero Turned Actor

Our tour included a visit to Audie Murphy’s grave, buried near the Tomb of the Unknowns. His heroic actions in battle eventually led him to a place among the Hollywood stars.

Born in Texas in 1925, Audie Leon Murphy became one of the most famous American field combat soldiers to emerge from World War II. He served in Europe in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant of Company B, 15th Infantry, Third Infantry Division. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery near Holtzwihr, France, on Jan. 26, 1945.

I won’t go into the details of how he won his Medal of Honor. But his war-time efforts won him promotions up to major in the U.S. Army. When he was discharged, he was the most decorated American soldier of the war, garnering 27 different medals (five each from France and Belgium). Murphy received every U.S. military combat award for valor available from the U.S. Army.

Murphy returned home a hero and ended up in Hollywood. He played himself in “To Hell and Back” in 1955, which detailed his exploits. He starred in the critically acclaimed 1951 movie version of author Stephen Crane’s “The Red Badge of Courage”. In all, he appeared in 47 films, most of them either Westerns or war movies.

Murphy died in a plane crash on May 28, 1971 in Virginia after completing his last film, ironically called “A Time for Dying”. Buried with full military honors near the Tomb of the Unknowns, his grave attracted so many visitors that a special walkway was built. When all the Medal of Honor recipients buried in ANC had their headstones replaced with the now-standard gold leaf inlay Medal of Honor marker, his family asked that his be kept plain and inconspicuous, in accordance with his wishes.

Championing Veterans

I want to talk about Audie Murphy’s second wife, Pam Archer Murphy. To me, she is an unsung hero few know about.

At the time of her husband’s death, he was broke due to gambling and bad investments. Pam went from a comfortable California home with their two sons to living in a small apartment. She took a clerk’s job at the nearby Veteran’s Administration hospital to support herself and start paying off her husband’s debts.

Pam Murphy quietly built a 35-year career working as a patient liaison at the Sepulveda VA Hospital, treating every veteran who visited as if they were a VIP. She worked there until 2007.

One article I read said:

“Nobody could cut through VA red tape faster than Mrs. Murphy,” said veteran Stephen Sherman, speaking for thousands of veterans she befriended over the years. “Many times I watched her march a veteran who had been waiting more than an hour right into the doctor’s office. She was even reprimanded a few times, but it didn’t matter to Mrs. Murphy. Only her boys mattered. She was our angel.”

Pam died on April 8, 2010. She is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Calif.

General John Joseph “Black Jack” Pershing

I’m going to finish up with a well-known but somewhat controversial military figure: General John Joseph “Black Jack” Pershing.

Much has been written about Pershing so I’m not going to make this longer than it needs to be. But he is best known for serving from 1917 to 1918 as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front during World War I. That’s just a small portion of his military career, however.

Before entering West Point in 1882, Pershing taught African-American students at Prairie Mound School in Missouri. A few years later, he became one of the first white officers to command African-American soldiers in the 10th Cavalry. His nickname came from his command of the segregated regiment, but later came to represent his stern demeanor.

In 1898, Pershing led 10th Cavalry soldiers up San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War. This caught the attention of Theodore Roosevelt, who also fought there with his “Rough Riders”. After Roosevelt became president, he promoted Pershing to brigadier general over 800 more senior officers. This ruffled some feathers.

Pershing served in the Philippines. Before Pershing returned to the U.S. in 1913, he was military governor of the southern Philippines’ Moro Province.

Tragedy Strikes

In 1915, Pershing’s wife, Frances, and their three daughters perished in a fire at their home in San Francisco. At the time, Pershing was patrolling the Mexican border against a rumored invasion by Mexican revolutionary Francisco “Pancho” Villa. Only son Warren survived.

President Woodrow Wilson, on the advice of military attaché Major Douglas McArthur named Pershing to command the American Expeditionary Forces being sent to France after America’s declaration of war on Germany. Some of his tactics have been criticized. His reliance on costly frontal assaults, long after other allied armies had abandoned such tactics, has been blamed for causing unnecessarily high American casualties.

After World War I, Congress conferred upon him the special rank of “General of the Armies of the United States”. With this rank, he was given the option of five stars, but declined the offer, sticking with four stars. He served as U.S. Army chief of staff from 1921 until his retirement in 1924. He died on July 15, 1948.

Pershing’s funeral cortege was led by the President Harry S. Truman, himself a veteran “doughboy” from World War I. After the funeral service in the memorial amphitheater, one of only nine to ever be held there, his last request to be buried with the men he had led and fought beside was honored. His grandson, Second Lt. Richard Pershing, who died in 1968 while serving in the Vietnam War, is buried beside him.

Yes, I’ve got a Part IV planned. It’s coming soon. Hope you’re enjoying this series.