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
AN ACT To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor to the unknown American who lost his life while serving overseas in the armed forces of the United States during the Second World War.
B e it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America assembled, That the President is hereby authorized and directed to award, in the name of Congress, a Medal of Honor to the unknown American who lost his life while serving overseas in the armed forces of the United States during the Second World War, and who will lie buried in the Memorial Amphitheater of the National Cemetery at Arlington, Virginia, as authorized by the Act of June 24, 1946, Public Law 429, Seventy-ninth Congress. Approved March 9, 1948, Public Law 438, Eightieth Congress.
Citation text: U.S. Government, public domain.