Marble Tomb Of Unknown Soldiers Deteriorating; Experts Mull Repair Vs. Replacement

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - For more than 70 years guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier have faithfully stood guard over the bodies of the three valiant soldiers buried there, but they have been unable to guard against the ravages of time eroding the marble monument itself.

Washington, D.C.'s severe winters have left the marble crazed with cracks that mar its appearance and some critics allege that as the deterioration worsens it will cease to be a dignified burial site for the soldiers buried there.

The bodies of soldiers from World War I and II and the Korean War are buried there. The body of a soldier from the Viet Nam war was also entombed there until 1998, when the body was disinterred, identified as Air Force First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie of St. Louis, Missouri and reburied in a family plot.

The marble has a growing problem with cracks. Some have been repaired, but officials are know arguing over whether to continue to make repairs or replace the sarcophagus with a replica made of similar marble.

In either case, the soldiers buried there are emblematic of other soldiers from America's wars that are still missing or unidentified in their graves.

"Soldiers never die until they are forgotten. Tomb Guards never forget," says a statement on the website of the non-profit Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.