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NAPS Honors Sacrifice to Our Nation

NAPS Honors Sacrifice to Our Nation
By Chuck Mulidore
NAPS Executive Vice President

This year, the NAPS Legislative Training Seminar (LTS) was held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA, March 3 through March 6. While LTS is our opportunity as NAPS delegates to directly engage with congressional leaders on issues important to NAPS, each year we also honor four NAPS members who are veterans or who have family members who were or are veterans by placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

This year’s honorees were Chanel M. Dodson, a retired Air Force veteran, member and secretary/treasurer of the Los Angeles Branch 39 Auxiliary. John H. Carson, Birmingham, AL Branch 45, proudly served in the Coast Guard for four years and three months, achieving the designation of yeoman. Michael Winters, Heart of Illinois Branch 255, started his military career with the Illinois Air National Guard, serving there and in the Air Force Reserves until his honorable discharge in 1996. Marcellus Wright, A. Millie Callaway, DC, Branch 135, served three years in the Army and was stationed in Ft. Clayton, Panama, and Ft. Bragg, NC, from 1982 to 1984. It was a privilege to honor these NAPS members and veterans.

This somber event is a testimonial to the thousands of NAPS members who have served in our nation’s armed forces and should be honored for their service. It also is a stark reminder that service to our country involves sacrifice. Many have made the ultimate sacrifice, as is reflected in cemeteries across our country, as well as cemeteries in far-off lands. That sacrifice is never more evident than at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

How did the idea for a memorial honoring unknown, but not forgotten, deceased servicemen come about? As relayed by Arlington National Cemetery Tours, the idea of the tomb itself was initially inspired by the multitudes of unknown dead amassed by the end of World War I.

On Memorial Day in 1921, the remains of four unidentified soldiers were exhumed from an American cemetery in France. The four were placed in identical caskets and stationed before a highly decorated World War I veteran tasked with selecting just one of the caskets for burial at Arlington National Cemetery. That person was U.S. Army Sergeant Edward F. Younger.

After the ceremonial selection was made, the body laid in state in the Capitol Rotunda until midnight on Nov. 10, 1921. On the following day, Armistice Day, the casket was placed in a caisson and transported to Arlington National Cemetery. Since that time, servicemen from World War II, Korea and Vietnam have been transported for burial at the tomb.

The sarcophagus built above the tomb of the World War I soldier sits in front of the three marble slabs that identify the crypts of the soldiers from World War II, Korea and Vietnam. It was constructed in 1931 out of seven large marble panels collectively weighing 79 tons. On one side is a relief of three Greek figures, each representing Peace, Valor and Victory. On the other side, there are sculpted six inverted wreaths, each representing a major campaign from World War I.

The U.S. Army regiment entrusted with tending to and guarding not just the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but also the coordination and execution of all burials that take place in Arlington National Cemetery, is the 3rd Infantry, affectionately known as the “Old Guard.” For those select few who answer the sacred call to become a Tomb Sentinel, it is a responsibility taken with the utmost grace.

If there is one reason, besides paying their respects and the historical significance of the grounds that visitors from all over the world visit Arlington National Cemetery, it is to witness the iconic changing of the guard. Since April 6, 1948, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year without exception. Every hour during winter and every half hour during the summer and daylight hours, one guard relieves another from their post.

This year, NAPS once again proudly honored its members who served our country by placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in remembrance of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, yet whose names are lost to history. On the west panel of the tomb are inscribed the words: “Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God.”

Thank you, veterans.