This a book about the tomb of the unknown soldier and how it came about. You also get a look into the war itself, that is World War One. Pershing chose eight men who had been chosen to be the Body Bearers. The ritual at the tomb to this day is something to behold and though sad is also very chilling as the 3rd Infantry Regiment, “The Old Guard” has been watching over the Tomb since 1948 taking over from the 3rd Calvary “Brave Rifles” For me this was a sad but very interesting book, having a grandfather who fought in WWI and my father fighting in WWII, and Korea and an Uncle in Vietnam. This was and is a special book that I think everyone should read. “ HERE RESTS IN NONERED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLIDER KNOWN BUT TO GOD.” I end with that.

This story was sad, heroic, and one of those that will stick with you much longer than the closing of the book cover. This is a book that deserves to be read. I was proud to have learned more about this honored veteran, and the background information. As a veteran, it was thrilling to read this book.

World War I history buffs and people intrigued by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier should read this. The author goes into detail about different aspects of the Great War especially the actions of the eight men chosen to be the Body Bearers for the Unknown Soldier. He also talks about the interment ceremony and how the body was chosen. This was a fascinating read that highlighted a little known part of World War I.

This looks at America's history with the unknown soldier and how it started and has progressed since then. It is a very detailed and enthralling account.

Overview:

This well-written non-fiction book, details how the US Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in Arlington, Virginia, came to be in 1921.

Marie Meloney, then editor of the Delineator, began the movement, which was taken up by US Representative Hamilton Fish, and the legislation was signed by President Woodrow Wilson. (While of course the country wanted to venerate its fallen, I got the sense the political will came due to the French having built theirs first, under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in 1920).

The ceremony took place on Nov 11, 1921, the first Veteran’s Day.

Main Characters:

Eight men were chosen for the duty of being a Body Bearer, in the ceremony to honour the fallen soldier, to carry the casket to its final resting place and, in words which are now the motto of the pall-bearing unit, “be the last to let him down”.

General Pershing selected eight highly decorated individuals to serve, from across all the major branches and disciplines of the US military - Army, Navy, Cavalry, Marines, Artillery, Engineers.

In the novel, the author gives the background to each of these extremely courageous individuals, as well as detailing their breath-taking feats on the field of battle (or the ocean, in the case of James Delaney). Each of these stories is deserving of a book in their own right.

These men were:

Lt Samuel Woodfill

Chief Gunner’s Mate James Delaney

Corporal Thomas D Saunders

First Sergeant Harry Taylor

First Sergeant Louis Razga

Color Sergeant James Dell

Gunnery Sergeant Ernest Janson

Chief Water Tender Charles Leo O’Connor.

Their deeds include:
One who sustained nearly fatal burns over most of his body to save his ship and ship-mates, a Cheyenne warrior who with another soldier breached barbed wire, and took a castle and 63 enemies prisoner, a sailor who fought a U-boat for hours, a cowboy who re-created the Charge of the Light Brigade, a gas-blinded gunner who wiped out five machine-gun nests, others who suffered but fought through horrific wounds at battles such as Belleau Wood, Saint-Mihel and The Meuse-Argonne.

Summary
The actual Unknown Soldier was chosen from 2,148 dead men, unrecognisable and untraceable, and still held in France. Of the 2,148, the choice for the fallen soldier was narrowed down to 8 bodies, which were taken from each of the four US cemeteries in France. The criteria were that they were US Service personnel, they died from combat wounds, and were completely untraceable (before the days of DNA testing).

Following the French example, an enlisted man, Sergeant Edward F Younger, was detailed to select the final body. There had been a lot of care gone into ensuring even the identical caskets could not be traced back to the cemeteries, so the origin of the bodies were truly unknown. Sergeant Younger laid a spray of white roses on his chosen casket.

This casket, with roses, then was taken from its resting place in Chalons-sur-Marne, in procession and afforded the highest possible military honours by both the French and US military, to a train in Paris, then to Le Havre, and then sailed on the ship Olympia to the Potomac in the US. Throughout the whole trip, the casket was given an honour guard, and full tributes.

We are given the full detail: The lying-in-state and subsequent viewing by thousands of people, of the ceremony itself with the dignitaries involved (from President Harding down), to the casket being placed on Lincoln's catafalque, including the image of a humble Gen. Pershing walking with the troops in the procession, as well as the sometimes unsavoury elements of political bickering around monies required for the eventual completion of the monument.

However, this book is more than just that. It also gives details of the horrors of World War One (fact: no-one alive today fought in that war), and details some of the renowned battles (such as the struggle for Belleau Wood), forgotten battles, or those that never made the news. They are stories about real-life men, and come unsanitised, which makes for gripping reading. It also gives details around the operation of the German High Command, and the overall complexity each side faced in the war.

What I Liked:
- The first five chapters outlining the experience of the men, and their backgrounds, gave me a real connection with them.
- It is easy to read, even for those with no in-depth knowledge of the War.
- Extremely well-researched (e.g. the processional details, the Congressional details, etc.). The author even accessed personal diaries. The book has ample notes and an index.

What I Didn’t Like:
- Some chapters were a bit long, which could be a little off-putting.
- While naturally US-focused, it smacked a little of the opinion that the US saved the day in WWI, which argument is not really advanced anymore even by serious US historians and scholars.

Overall:
I really enjoyed this book. Well-written, the research shines through in every aspect, and got me interested in a story which I had never even considered before, even when I stood at the Tomb. This book really brought these men to life, and I am always in awe to think of the bravery of such soldiers.

While not intending to be the primary reason, it does give an excellent overview of the US involvement in WW1, and will serve as an introduction into the work on the subject.

I would thoroughly recommend this book. It is vividly told, gives a voice to a now-vanished generation, and is a compelling read.

Acknowledgements:

My thanks to NetGalley and the author for giving me a free copy of this book, in return for an honest and objective review.

I received a free Kindle copy of The Unknowns by Patrick K. O'Donnell courtesy of Net Galley  and Grove Atlantic, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I am a great deal about World War I, but not on the process for selecting the Unknown Solider and his coffin bearers. This is the first book by Patrick K. O'Donnell that I have read.

The subtitle for this book is : The Untold Story of America's Unknown Soldier and WW I's Decorated Heroes Who Brought Him Home. I found the book to be somewhat disappointing as the bulk of the book is more focused on the events of World War I (of which there are many others) and less on the Unknown Soldier process and this bearers. The most interesting parts of the book are where the author actually focuses on the subject matter as it is the part has been inadequately covered in the past.

I recommend this book to anyone who has not read much about World War I and has an interest in the subject. If you have read a lot about World War I you can skim read until you get to the parts that actually deal with the subject of the book.

The Unknowns is subtitled as the story of American’s unknown soldier and the heroes who brought him home. The body bearers and their exploits are described, some rather scantly. Much more attention is given to other personalities and aspects in World War I, like George Patton and Eddie Rickenbacher, and the desire of French and British generals to use American soldiers as cannon fodder after they’d wasted their men.
The book is full of little details I’d never heard before, such as how America used gas sparingly prior to the final Meuse-Argonne campaign. Then, they drenched German positions and warned the doughboys not to hunt for souvenirs.
The whole ceremony of selecting the Unknown, brining him home, and entombing him is a moving story.

O'Donnell tells the combat history of the 6 pallbearers who escorted the body of the Unknown Soldier to their final resting place. Each soldier, marine, and sailor were chosen for this honor for their bravery and courage under fire. Not only does O'Donnell walk the reader through a brief history of America's involvement in World War I, but also tells the story of how the Unknown Soldier was chosen. In fact the story was so intriguing I wish the author would have gone into a little more detail instead of the general overview. 3/4s of the book was dedicated to the 6 heroes and only about 1/4 dedicated to the Unknown.

I think anyone who visits the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier should be required to read this book or at least the last fourth of the book. O'Donnell has done it again with a great and intriguing book!

Great book describing the tactics of fighting and the heroes who fought in WWI. I would recommend this book to older teens and adults to realize the sacrifices that were made for our freedom.