Soldier of World War I The idea of honoring the unknown dead of
World War I originated in Europe. France and England first paid
such honors on 11 November 1920, and Italy and other European
nations soon followed. formed the committee that the date was
premature. He had been advised by the Quartermaster General, who
would be in charge of selecting and preparing the body of the
unknown soldier, that only 1,237 American dead were still
unidentified and that the cases of almost all of these were
being investigated. Haste, the Quartermaster General had pointed
out, could result in the burial of a body which might later be
identified. At 1500 on 23 October all four caskets arrived by
truck at the city hall of Chalons-sur-Marne. Awaiting them was a
large delegation of French and American officials. The American
group was headed by the Quartermaster General, Maj.Gen. Harry L.
Rogers, and included Col. Harry F. Rethers, the chief of the
American Graves Registration Service in Europe; Lt. Col. William
G. Ball, Quarterm