Changing of the Guards at Arlington Cemetery

Location: Arlington National Cemetery 
Destination: Arlington, Virginia
Country: United States
Year Taken: 2009

Photographer: Jon Rochetti
Blog: The DC Traveler

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery outside of Washington, DC is guarded around the clock, 365 days-a-year, since 1937.

Beginning after World War II, special detail from the 3rd United States Infantry, also called The Old Guard, have been protecting the tomb.

In 1921, an unidentified soldier who had died during World War I in France, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in a temporary crypt. Eleven years later, a formal white marble sarcophagus was installed.

To honor the unidentified soldiers who perished in battle during World War II and the Korean War, two additional bodies were interred in 1958.

In 1984, the remains of a Vietnam War soldier that had not been identified were also interred in the tomb. But through DNA identification, the soldier’s identity was later determined in 1998 and the remained were moved.

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