Tomb of the Unknowns: Repair, Maybe Replace?

The massive block of Colorado Yule Marble should be transported to either Georgia or South Dakota for further inspection, according to the Denver Post. Whether it actually serves as the new monument at the country’s most-famous cemetery, however, as the replacement concept is still being hashed out among Washington politicians and lobbyists.

At this point, the block will be held in reserve; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will award a $70,000 contract to fix the monument’s problems.

The current monument, cut from the Yule Quarry in Marble in 1931, developed cracks shortly after its installation in the Virginia cemetery. Previous repair attempts failed to stop the spread of the cracks, which now are visible on all four sides of the monument.

The idea of replacing the monument came from Rex Loesby, former manager of the Yule Quarry, after visiting the cemetery 19 years ago. Cemetery officials warmed to the concept in 2002, and quarriers spent the next three years attempting to cut a suitable 190-ton-plus block. John Haines, a local car dealer and philanthropist in nearby Glenwood Springs, Colo., agreed to pay the $31,000 quarrying cost and the shipping to a carver to replicate the monument.

However, the replacement plan met with opposition from Robert Nieweg, director of the southern field office for the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP). As the U.S. Army continued its public-review process for authorizing the replacement in mid-2007, Nieweg initiated an Internet-based campaign against the idea; the NTHP also placed the Tomb of the Unknowns on its “11 Most Endangered Historic Places” for 2007. (The record of that listing disappeared from the group’s online searchable archives last week, although the description is still available here.)

An amendment by Sens. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Jim Webb (D-Va.) to a defense-appropriations bill in late 2007 required another study – the third since 1963 – be done on the monument’s condition. That report, released last August, noted the repair option, as well as replacement.

“If it can no longer be repaired, wonderful. We’ll be ready for whatever,” said Nieweg in a Post interview.

The study also noted the final cost replacement was estimated to cost $2.2 million, although that included a $50,000 purchase of the marble and $40,000 transport bill. Haines previously agreed to cover the purchase and transport as a donation.