The Great War in Arlington Cemetery

The Unknown Soldier was designated October 24, 1921.

“Their devotion, their valor and their sacrifice will live forever in the hearts of their grateful countryman,” declared General of the Armies John J. Pershing, referring to the over 100,000 Americans who died in World War I. Arlington Cemetery is the final resting place for not only their revered leader, General Pershing, but also for a lone soldier whose anonymous, though not forgotten, death prompted erection of one of the cemetery’s most powerful sites: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Join this walk to pay tribute to them and to heroic battlefield nurses, the “Buffalo Soldiers” who were transformed into “Doughboys,” and thousands who died near the Forest of Argonne. Honoring the sites associated with World War I affords the opportunity to see both the most famous and least visited places in our national burial ground. Be prepared to walk long distances.

Led by Brenda

More Washington, D.C. walking tours you might like: The Imprint of World War I and Memorials: Remembrances of War