10 Renowned Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers Around the World

There have been many battles fought since different societies started interacting with each other and there came a sense of dominance over the other to have more power. This led to many wars and this approach still continues to exist whereby countries fight one another. Many people have died defending their lands and many have died in the line of duty. Those numerous people who sacrificed their lives to protect their states have always been given highest honours. But there are also those who have not been identified in their martyrdom. They have been honored through memorials in the form of Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, where remains of the unidentifiable soldiers are buried. These have become monuments of national importance because they represent a significant chapter in a country’s history. This trend of honoring unidentified martyrs especially began after the end of the World War I. Here are ten of the most renowned Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers from around the world:

1. The Unknown Warrior

The Unknown Warrior of Britain holds an unidentified British soldier who was killed during the First World War somewhere in Europe. He was buried in Westminster Abbey on 11 November 1920 and was the first of its kind amongst the series of such tombs that followed to honor the unknown dead soldiers. Reverend David Railton was the first person to come up with this concept of honoring unknown soldiers in 1916. He wanted that they be treated with such regality as kings are treated with. Hence, from then on, those soldiers who died but could not be identified to have a marked grave are now symbolically respected in this manner.

2. Tomb of the Unknowns

The Tomb of the Unknowns is a memorial monument for American service members who could never got identified after their deaths in battles. It is inside the Arlington National Cemetery, where many other identified service members of American forces are also buried. Those who died during the World War I and remained unknown, they have been given the Medal of Honor, the Victoria Cross and many other foreign nations’ highest service honors. There is the Tomb of 1921, the Tomb of 1931, The Unknown of World War I, The Unknowns of World War II and Korea, and The Unknown of Vietnam. Being a ceremonial guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns is considered to be one of the highest honors and only a fraction of the volunteers get selected after training to be Tomb Guards. These sentinels of the unknown tombs do not wear any rank insignia because they should not outrank the service members buried whose ranks are also unknown.

3. Monument to the Unknown Hero

The Monument to the Unknown Hero is located on Mount Avala which is in the south-east of Belgrade. It was designed by the sculptor Ivan Meštrović and was built on Žrnov fortress. It was completed and opened in 1938. The monument was built to honor the victims of World War I as well as the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) and was ordered by King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. To represent the Yugoslavian unity, the monument has caryatids symbolizing all those nations ruled by the King after the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. In 1987, this monument was declared as the Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance and is now protected by Republic of Serbia.

4. Australian War Memorial in Canberra

The Australian War Memorial has three sections that include the Commemorative Area, which is a shrine and in that there is the Hall of Memory housing the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier. The other two sections of the Memorial include galleries, which is a museum and Research Centre, where records are kept. It also has a Sculpture Garden on the outside. It was first opened in 1941 and its architecture was designed by two Australians, Emil Sodersten and John Crust. The idea of having a War Memorial was conceived by Australia’s official World War I historian, Charles Bean, in 1916 and hence the work on this project began to honor all the dead soldiers who gave their lives in the line of duty for their country and its defence. Initially the budget at the time was low because of the financial depression that occurred and affected Australia. Because of this, it took almost 25 years for the Australian War Memorial to be completely constructed in Canberra. The Memorial is always open from 10AM to 5PM, except for being closed on Christmas Day.

5. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the World (Sekai Mumei Senshi no Haka)

Sekai Mumei Senshi no Haka, which literally means Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the World in the Japanese language, is the Cenotaph in Ogose, Saitama Japan that was completed in 1953. It is in memory of the 2.51 million soldiers of more than 60 countries who all lost their lives during World War II. The Cenotaph also represents the remains of 264 Japanese soldiers. The idea for such a memorial was first given by Hidekuni Hasebe of the Saitama prefectural assembly. The garden plant market and fireworks are held every second Saturday or Sunday of the month May every year along with the Shichi-Go-San parade.

6. Unknown Soldier Memorial (Egypt)

There are many such Unknown Soldier Memorials for Egyptians soldiers both inside and outside the country, but the most famous of them all is the one located in Nasr City in Cairo called the Unknown Soldier Memorial. It is shaped like a pyramid that is hollow in the centre, which is a geometric design often found on many structures in Egypt. At the centre of the base is a solid basalt cube that represents an unknown soldier’s tomb. The Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat had ordered that a memorial be constructed to honor those Egyptians who gave their lives in the 1973 October War, commonly known as the Yom Kippur War. Hence within a year it was completed and inaugurated in October 1975. Later when President Sadat was assassinated, he was buried at the same site in October 1981. The memorial is always open every day of the year to all visitors at all times.

7. The Monument to the Unknown Soldier

The Monument to the Unknown Soldier has been made to honor martyrs from Iran-Iraq War. The architecture of the entire monument is very traditional in its style with a shield dropping from the hands of a dying Iraqi Warrior. This memorial also has an underground museum which does not has any lighting system and uses natural lights through windows and doors. The visitors have to carry their own flashlights. Most of the cases where war relics were displayed are now empty perhaps due to being stolen during the current invasion of Iraq by America. No reports and investigations have taken place that might indicate who the culprits might be. The visiting period is during the daylight hours only and a visitor has to ask for permission from the guarding soldiers of the monument to enter inside.

8. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Damascus)

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a war memorial dedicated to the Syrian soldiers killed in wars throughout its history. It was designed by Prof. Dr. Abdo Kass-Hout in 1994. It is visited by the President on Martyrs’ Day on May 6 annually. The dome symbolizes the universe and the arch symbolizes the victory in its architecture. Under the dome, there is a hall that has five large painting that capture the battles from Arab as well as Syrian history. The battles include the Battle of Yarmouk (636), Battle of Hattin (1187), Battle of Maysaloun (1920), Battle of Mount Hermon (1973) and Battle of Sultan Yacoub (1982). There are also two verses from the Quran which are engraved into the structure:
“Think not of those who are slain in God’s Way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the Presence of their Lord; They rejoice in the Bounty provided by God: and with regard to those left behind, who have not yet joined them (in their bliss), the (Martyrs) glory in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have they (cause to) grieve.”

9. Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is known as Tombe du Soldat Inconnu in French, has been made in the National War Memorial on Confederation Square in Ottawa. It was constructed in 2000 and was opened to the public in 2002. Inside the tomb are the remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier who died in France during World War I. Previously, his remains were buried at the site which is famous for the Canadian battle during World War I. This tomb is symbolic and represents all the Canadian forces of navy, army, air force or merchant marines, and those who have died before, or now or will die in future for Canada. It is basically dedicated to all those people who have served and did not return home or have a possibility of the same in future. Since the summer of 2007 after an incident of desecration, the tomb has a pair of sentries mounted by the Ceremonial Guard in full uniform who are present from 9am to 5pm.

10. Garden of the Missing Soldiers

The Garden of the Missing Soldiers is a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Memorial as well as Memory Garden for those Israeli Defense Forces soldiers whose burial place is unknown. It is located in Mount Herzl in Jerusalem and was completed on 29 February 2004. It was called Unknown Soldier Monument in the beginning, but has since been renamed. However, there is another memorial which has been planned and that will open in the National Memorial Hall in 2013 in close proximity to The Garden of the Missing Soldiers.