PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The USS Olympia sits peacefully on the Delaware River at Penn’s Landing. And on Memorial Day, it offered another moment of peace for people who died serving their country.
“The Olympia was used to transport the body back from France to the final resting place in Arlington in Virginia, where of course the Unknown Soldier is right now,” said Independence Seaport Museum President Peter Seibert.
The Olympia made that trek 100 years ago, in October 1921. America’s first unknown soldier, from World War I, was buried that year with the highest military honors. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier represents the ultimate sacrifice unidentified soldiers made and continue to make for their country.
This Memorial Day observation aboard the Olympia — the oldest steel warship afloat in the world — honored the centennial anniversary.
“This is the 100th anniversary of when the Unknown Soldier was brought from Europe to the United States at the end of World War I,” Seibert added.
He said the service really stands out on a day when all Americans are asked to think about soldiers who paid the ultimate price.
“It’s really a tribute to all of us who have those memories who have given the supreme sacrifice, and in this case, a warrior who’s only known to God,” he said.
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The Seaport Museum unveiled a new historical marker aboard the Olympia to “honor the exact location as to where the America Unknown Soldier was laid during the transport home across the Atlantic Ocean in 1921.” The marker also pays tribute to the crew aboard who protected the soldier’s remains on their voyage.
An inscription reads:
For the American who sacrificed his life and identity in service of his country, the unspeakable perils of World War One did not end on French battlefields. The journey of his mortal remains home to the United States aboard U.S.S. Olympia nearly ended in his loss at sea.
The Unknown Soldier’s safe return resulted from the bravery of Olympia’s crew, whose valiant efforts kept the ship functioning through heavy seas from ten of the voyage’s fifteen days.
It was on this spot that the Marine Honor Guard lashed the casket and themselves to the ship to avoid being washed overboard.