November 11, 1921 marked the first anonymous burial at what famous U.S. cemetery?

November 11, 1921 marked the first anonymous burial at what famous U.S. cemetery? The answer is Arlington National Cemetery. On Armistice Day in 1921, the United States buried an unidentified World War I serviceman at Arlington, creating what became the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The ceremony honored one unknown American while symbolically representing all service members whose identities and final resting places were never confirmed.

The soldier’s remains were selected from unidentified American military graves in France and transported to the United States aboard the USS Olympia. After lying in state at the U.S. Capitol, the casket was carried by military procession across Washington, D.C., to Arlington National Cemetery. President Warren G. Harding presided over the state funeral.

The original burial took place in the Memorial Amphitheater, and the famous marble Tomb was completed later. Unknown servicemen from World War II and the Korean War were interred there in 1958; an unknown from the Vietnam War was added in 1984 but later identified as Air Force pilot Michael Blassie. The site remains guarded and is known for its ceremonial sentinels.