Army mulls replacement of Tomb of the Unknowns

[babylonsister]

Army mulls replacement of Tomb

By David C. Lipscomb
September 20, 2007


The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery has been patched repeatedly over the years. The most prominent crack cuts across the middle of the marble monument.

The Army plans to make a decision by the end of the month whether to replace the 71-year-old Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

The decision would be the culmination of years of debate over how to treat several non-structural cracks that officials say diminish the aesthetic value of the 48-ton white marble monument.

"We want to have as flawless as possible a monument to our unknown soldiers," said Army spokesman Sheldon Smith. "But no final decisions have been made."

Mr. Smith said the Army is leaning toward replacing the tomb because the quarry that supplied the marble for the existing tomb has offered to donate a new stone to the cemetery and engrave it. The existing tomb would be donated to the Smithsonian Institution or a military museum if it is replaced.

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http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070920/METRO/109200091/1001

[Rex]

1. Take that, nature!

:eyes:

[Xipe Totec]

2. For starters, use something more stable than marble n/t

[onehandle]

3. Pay Haliburton to build a new one.

They're good at profiting off of our war dead and taking our tax money.

[backscatter712]

4. IIRC, they already tried once.

They commissioned a block of marble be cut from the same quarry in Colorado the original marble monument was carved from.

It fell through because the block that was cut cracked as it was being extracted.

Getting blocks that big isn't easy or cheap.