At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Every day, hundreds of people trek through Arlington National Cemetery up to the hill where, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, an impeccably dressed guard from the 3rd U.S. Infantry paces to and fro in measured steps, keeping watch over one of the cemetery's most revered and visited sites, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Engraved on the west side of the monument is a simple epitaph: "Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God."

Visitors aren't allowed to approach the tomb, but those who look closely from behind the cordon will notice two dark cracks running through the sides of the marble monument. The cracks, which are considered cosmetic flaws, have grown over the years because of natural weathering. Now, cemetery officials are planning to replace the 1932 monument with a sculpted replica.

"It's a very simple monument, and I think it still conveys the message and spirit it has always been meant to convey," says Dennis Montagna, director of the National Park Services Monument Research Program in the northeast region, who examined the tomb last year. "The tomb is eminently conservable, but it's a difference in perception. The resource for the cemetery isn't the monument, it is the remains underneath."

Though the cracks were first documented in 1963, upkeep has been irregular, with the most recent repairs made in 1990. Still, as recently as 2006, inspectors determined that there was no threat of the tomb's collapsing, and that with regular repair, it could be maintained indefinitely.

Cemetery superintendent John Metzler is leading the tomb replacement project. Although several factors influenced the decision, he says, he began considering replacement when he learned that the quarry where the marble for the original monument was procured had a slab of stone large enough to replicate the monument was available.

"A block of marble this size is not easy to obtain. The marble is available now, which may not be the case in the years to come," says Metzler. (The tomb, which measures 14 by 8 feet wide and is 11 feet high, comprises seven pieces of marble, the largest weighing 48 tons.) "We always want the best serviceable headstone marking a site, so when a headstone is damaged and becomes no longer serviceable, we replace it." Metzler adds that the tomb may be replaced as early as 2009.

Preservationists, however, see the tomb as more than just a headstone and argue that replacing it will mean the loss of a very specific kind of historical connection.

"It's completely unnecessary," says Robert Niewig, director of the National Trust's southern field office, "and in fact it risks betraying generations of veterans who have gone to the tomb to mourn their war dead." Niewig adds that cemetery officials did not consult an advisory council, as required by federal law, before deciding to replace the tomb and brought in consultants only after having made a final decision. "No meaningful consideration at all has been given to preservation," says Niewig. "This is not just a piece of art that can somehow be replicated. It's a cultural icon."

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