A traveling replica of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was on display at the Decatur County Fairgrounds on Sunday.
This event was hosted by the Lone Tree Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). The tomb replica design and construction was accomplished by Philip Burkhalter and his team at Bulkhalter Construction. The sculptures, engraving, and painting were done by Chuck Schmult in Rome, Georgia. The replica is 50% the size of the real tomb in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a monument dedicated to service members who have died without their remains being identified. On the North and South panels of the tomb there are three wreaths that represented “a world of memories, but later came to represent the six major battles engaged by the American Forces in France: Ardennes, Belleau Wood, Chateau- Theirry, Meusse Argonne, Ouisiu- Eiseu, and Somme.” These wreaths are placed facing downward, this is to represent that these are for mourning. The East panel has 3 figures representing peace, victory, and valor. This panel is unable to be viewed by the public and faces toward Washington D.C. There are 4 wars represented by an unknown soldier at the tomb: WW1, WW 2, Korea, and Vietnam. The Vietnam tomb has remained empty since 1998 when the soldier was identified as Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie who arrived back home to his family in St. Louis Missouri where he was interred at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on July 11, 1998.
If your organization would like to have this replica at one of your events, feel free to contact them at The Exchange Club of Rome, P.O. Box 1184, Rome, Ga, 30162-1184.
Morgan Schofield
WTRE News
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