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The Unknown Soldier is an unidentified casualty of war who has been honored since World War I by various countries. The Unknown Soldier serves as a delegate of all those who died while serving their nation. Many times when a soldier is killed in combat, it is not possible to discover who he was, so he has to be buried as an unknown, without a name. In order to make a regrettable situation better, some countries honor their unknown soldiers by choosing one and placing him in a tomb marked for an Unknown Soldier.
In the United States, four unknown soldiers are buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery located in Virginia on a hillside providing a view of the Potomac River. The four soldiers are from each world war, with one from the Korean War, and one from the Vietnam War. Washington Square, once known as Southeast Square was one of the five public parks drawn up in 1682 by William Penn when he laid out his blueprint for Philadelphia. Shortly after the square was designed, it was used as a potter's field. By 1706 Washington Square began being used as a burial ground.
At times certain people were given permission to be buried in the square such as the Joshua Carpenter family, a distinguished Philadelphia lineage. In the early years the square was sometimes used for a fishing hole and gathering place, duck hunting and revival tent meetings. Reports made by John Watson told how the slaves were given permission to use the square as a meeting place to celebrate the holidays. At times, as many as a thousand slaves would gather to celebrate an occasion bringing along plenty of good food and always holding a fine jig. They celebrated in a most noble way by honoring the "sleeping dust below." They did not forget what was lying in the ground beneath them. By 1776 the Revolutionary War brought more casualties to the square and its burial population grew bigger.
In 1954 the Washington Square Planning Committee got together to pay honor to George Washington and an unknown Revolutionary War soldier. In 1956 an archaeological team dug up several graves, mostly of paupers before finally finding a mass grave. Inside they found the unruffled remains of a male soldier who appeared to be about twenty years old within the remnants of an oak casket. What the archaeological team must have felt at that moment we can only imagine. But, they must have had a feeling of great honor and respect come over them.
In France, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is not located in a cemetery. It is under their famous monument called the Arch of Triumph with an eternal flame burning at the grave. The English have their Unknown Soldier buried in a church called Westminster Abbey. They have placed the soldier near other distinguished Englishmen who have been known and honored throughout history. In the United States, the tomb of the Unknown Soldier bears the following words:
"Beneath rests a soldier of Washington's army who died to give you liberty."
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