“America the Beautiful” Heard at Arlington
“The Unknown Soldier and his legions of sleeping comrades were honored anew in this national cemetery today—with fresh flowers and a solemn promise,” said an Associated Press report from the Arlington National Cemetery on May 30, 1943. “The Memorial Day crowd,” it added, “came from every direction through the oak-shaded walks of the cemetery, sobered by the sight of fresh graves among the sod-covered resting places of earlier veterans.”
Taps were sounded by a marine corps bugler, and all conversation ceased. President F. D. Roosevelt’s wreath was laid on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Representatives of veterans’ organizations and their auxiliaries, dressed in vivid uniforms, then deposited wreath after wreath at the base of the white monument.
The “solemn promise” mentioned was given by Lt.-Gen. Brehon B. Somervell who made this declaration: “To the nameless soldier here before us in this marble tomb and through him to all his comrades, wherever they may lie, we make this promise:
“With them we enter into an earnest covenant that we will carry on the fight, against whatever odds and however long it takes, until justice and decency and human liberty are re-established throughout the earth.”
“America the Beautiful” was distinctly heard as the people moved quietly into the classic marble amphitheater, as the carillon at Fort Myer, nearby, gave forth the music of the beloved patriotic song of Katharine Lee Bates—
“O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!”