By special acts of Congress, the Medal of Honor was bestowed on the Unknown Soldiers of the United States who rest at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, and — as a gesture of shared sacrifice after World War I — on the Unknown Soldiers of Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy and Romania.
The Vietnam Unknown was identified through DNA testing in 1998 as Air Force First Lieutenant Michael Blassie and returned to his family; the crypt now stands empty as a tribute to all missing service members.
Official Medal of Honor citation
By virtue of an act of Congress approved 24 August 1921, the Medal of Honor, emblem of highest ideals and virtues, is bestowed in the name of the Congress of the United States upon the unknown American, typifying the gallantry and intrepidity, at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, of our beloved heroes who made the supreme sacrifice in the World War. They died in order that others might live. (War Department General Orders, No. 59, 13 Dec. 1921, sec. 1)
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.
Timeline
- November 11, 1921Medal of Honor presented posthumouslyArlington, Virginia - Arlington National Cemetery, presented by President Harding
- Resting placeArlington National CemeteryArlington, Virginia