Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown by von.otter
The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to The Unknown Soldier of Italy World War I By virtue of a joint resolution of Congress, approved 12.October.1921, the Medal of Honor, emblem of highest ideals and virtues, is bestowed in the name of Congress of the United States of America upon the unknown, unidentified Italian soldier to be buried in the National Monument to Victor Emanuel II, in Rome ?
The opening from U.S. War Department General Orders, No. 52, 1.December.1922
HOW THE UNKNOWN IS KNOWN That portion of the Victor Emanual Monument where the unidentified soldier rests is known as Altare della Patria. The solider?s remains were selected by the mother of an Italian soldier who never returned home, and was counted among the thousands missing. Her own son was most likely interred somewhere in an unmarked grave, perhaps even in a mass grave.
Members of different branches of the armed forces rotate the Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We saw this change around Noon on a Saturday in late May. It lacks the pomp of a Buckingham Palace guard change; with good reason this occasion is much more solemn.