Memorial Day Special Interview with Sergeant Shane Vincent

<p>This Memorial Day weekend, Chuck and Sam are honored to speak with Sergeant First Class Shane Vincent. Shane joined the Army in 2008 and was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Regiment, more commonly known as The Old Guard, where he became a Sentinel of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He joins Breaking Battlegrounds this weekend to share his experiences in honoring the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our nation. </p><p>-</p><p>On March 4, 1921, Congress approved a resolution providing for the burial of an unidentified American soldier, following the custom adopted by other allied countries after World War I. The site was to be the plaza of Arlington National Cemetery’s Memorial Amphitheater, which had been dedicated the previous year.</p><p>On Memorial Day, 1921, an unknown was exhumed from each of four cemeteries in France. The remains were placed in identical caskets and assembled at Chalon sur Marne.</p><p>On October 24, Army Sergeant Edward F. Younger, wounded in combat and highly decorated for valor, selected the unknown soldier for World War 1 by placing a spray of white roses on one of the caskets. Those remaining were interred in the Meuse Argonne Cemetery, France. The Unknown Soldier then returned home to the U.S. to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda until Armistice Day. On November 11, 1921, President Warren G. Harding officiated at the interment ceremonies at the Amphitheater.</p><p>The monument which rests on top of the Unknown grave is a sarcophagus simple but impressive in its dimensions. Its austere, flat-faced form is relieved at the corners and along the sides by neo-classic pilasters, or columns, set unto the surface.</p><p>Sculpted into the panel which faces Washington are the three figures of Valor, Victory, and Peace. On the plaza face the words "Here Rests in Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God".</p><p>On August 3, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a bill to select and pay tribute to the Unknown Soldiers of World War II and Korea on Memorial