Tomb of the Unknown Soldier replica coming to county this week

A half-scale replica of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier will be on display in Greenville on July 3 and 4. The replica, created by the Exchange Club of Rome, Georgia, can be viewed on the Veterans Mall at the Muhlenberg County Courthouse in downtown Greenville, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on July 3 and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 4.

The replica was created to educate the public about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, said event organizer William Kizziar. A chaplain at the Green River Correctional Center in Central City, Kizziar served as a Tomb Guard from March 1980 to April 1981.

“They not only gave their lives, but also their identities, to protect the freedoms we enjoy today,” Kizziar said.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is located in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington D.C. The tomb serves as a monument to all missing and unknown service members lost in battle. Created through an act of Congress in 1921 by World War I veteran Hamilton Fish Jr., “to bring home the body of an unknown American warrior who in himself represents no section, creed, or race in the late war and who typifies, moreover, the soul of America and the supreme sacrifice of her heroic dead.”

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the interment of the World War I Unknown Soldier. The body of an unidentified service member who was killed in France, was laid to rest there on Nov. 11, 1921. Over the decades, three crypts have been added to included remains of unknown soldiers representing World War II, Korea and an empty crypt dedicated to honoring the missing.

Many people are unfamiliar with the monument, which is why Kizziar decided to bring the replica to Greenville this week. As a former Tomb Guard, Kizziar is one of a small group of soldiers who have served at the monument to ensure the public honor and respect the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Based on the highest military honor, a 21-gun salute, the guard marches 21 steps down a black mat behind the tomb, turns and faces east for 21 seconds, turns and faces north for 21 seconds, then takes 21 steps down the mat and repeats the process. Then the guard changes his weapon placement to the shoulder facing the visitors, to signify that they stand between the tomb and any possible threat.

An elaborate ceremony is performed with the changing of the guard, many times each day, by the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, who stand watch over the tomb. The experience of watching the changing of the guard draws visitors to Arlington from all over the nation and the world. The most memorable part of the visit for most is this ceremony, Kizziar said.

“These people had sacrificed to give us the rights we enjoy,” Kizziar said. “You enjoy those privileges, but you didn’t earn those privileges. These people, and anybody who served in the military, they earned those privileges because they voluntarily placed themselves in harms way.”

The replica will be on display and include a large screen broadcasting a video of the changing of the guard. Kizziar will be on site to offer insight into the memorial and his service as a Tomb Guard.

There will be an escort of the replica from the Todd County Welcome Center, located on the town square in downtown Elkton, to the National Guard Armory in Central City, to Veterans Plaza in Greenville on July 2 at 5 p.m. There will also be an escort from the National Guard Armory to Veterans Plaza at 7:30 a.m. on July 3. The public is welcomed to join.