The Centennial of the Arrival of the Unknown Soldier

Cruiser Olympia and the Difficult Journey Home

By Peter Seibert, Executive Director and CEO, Independence Seaport Museum

Just steps from the Memorial Amphitheater at

Arlington National Cemetery lies American

Unknown Soldiers from various conflicts. The first of these Unknown Soldiers, buried with the highest military honors, was the American Unknown Soldier from World War I.

These soldiers’ remains symbolize the nation’s indebtedness to all U.S. service members who died in combat. Congress authorized the establishment of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1921 as a memorial for the thousands of American families who lost loved ones in World War I and whose remains were never identified. Though American participation in the war was shorter than the other Allied powers, the cost in casualties was severe. There were 116,708 recorded American deaths, 3,350 of them missing or unidentified.

The year 2021 marks the centennial anniversary of the American World War I Unknown Soldier’s transportation home from France. Some people know the story of how he was selected and buried at Arlington. But most are not aware of his perilous journey aboard Olympia as she made her way across the Atlantic Ocean.

Olympia (CL 15) left Le Havre, France, on October 25, 1921. The ship’s crew included a Marine detachment detailed to guard the Unknown Soldier during his journey. Sailors placed the casket containing the Unknown Soldier’s remains within a larger transport container to protect it over the transit. The crew could not, however, move the case below deck without disturbing the remains inside because of size restrictions imposed by Olympia’s doorways and hatches. This meant the remains had to be stowed

topside in a relatively secure location just below the aft signal bridge and radio house. Capt. H. L. Wyman, USN, Olympia’s Commanding Officer, ordered Capt. Graves B. Erskine, Commander of Olympia’s Marine Detachment, and his Honor Guard to watch the Unknown Soldier around the clock. Sailors and Marines lashed the transport case down as securely as possible to keep it safe on the journey. While sailing westbound, Olympia encountered the remnants of “Hurricane #5” and “Hurricane #6,” also known as the Tampa Bay hurricane of 1921. Both storms crossed Florida within a week of each other and continued tracking into the North Atlantic in Olympia’s direction. These combined storms subjected those on the journey to 20- to 30-foot waves for nearly two-thirds of the Atlantic crossing. Cross-waves sporadically colliding with the ship’s sides were The Unknown Soldier being brought aboard Olympia at Le Harve, France on the biggest threat October 25, 1921. to Olympia because they could easily capsize her or cause the loss of the Unknown Soldier. Frederick A. Landry of the Marine Guard reported the ship rolled 39 degrees at one point, a mere 10 degrees away from being lost. He noted even the ship’s cook speculated how close Olympia would come to capsizing on the next roll. The Marines guarding the transport case lashed themselves to the ship to keep from being swept overboard. As Erskine later recalled: We lashed the fellow down with everything that we could tie on him. Many times the waves would go up the bridge . . . and in the wardroom, we had at least four inches Continued on page 6

Continued from page 6

of water most of the time. . . . We had some very rough weather coming home, and there were times we thought we might not make it home. The chaplain and the captain got together and he had a special service, praying to God that the ship wouldn’t sink.i

Landry also wrote: “I began feeling sorry for myself standing there in a small area with wind and rain pelting me in the face, but my self sorrow didn’t last long. I soon realized that what I was doing was little enough compared to what the Unknown Soldier had done—given his life.”ii

The bravery of those aboard at the time, including Olympia’s officers, sailors, stewards, and the Marine Honor Guard, kept the ship safe, and the Unknown Soldier’s remains were delivered to the Washington Navy Yard on November 9, 1921. Upon arrival, an Army caisson took the Unknown to the Capitol Rotunda, where his body lay in state. Thousands of visitors left flowers and paid their respects. An Honor Guard then transported the Unknown Soldier to Arlington National Cemetery on November 11, Armistice Day, to be laid to rest in a grand ceremony presided over by the president of the United States and attended by soldiers, sailors, Marines, and civilians from around the world.

i Erskine quote taken from interviews recorded between the fall of 1969 to early spring of 1970. The complete interview is part of Independence

Seaport Museum’s Cruiser Olympia collections. ii Last Voyage by Dennis D. Nicholson, Jr. pg. 44. Lt. Col. Dennis Nicholson, USMC, article “In Good Hands,” Marine Corps Gazette, November 1964. General Graves B. Erskine, USMC, oral history transcript, 1975, Benis M. Frank interviewer, History and Museum Division, U.S. Marine

Corps. J.R. Neubeiser, With the Hand of God, Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, 2021.

Preservation Efforts for Cruiser Olympia

Cruiser Olympia, the oldest floating steel warship in the world, is still afloat thanks to the constant, careful maintenance performed by Independence Seaport Museum’s shipkeepers. One of the most significant preservation efforts in 2020–2021 was a fundraiser to install new quarterdeck railings. This added 2,500 square feet of deck space to the public route. With funds successfully raised, the quarterdeck opened for the first time in two decades this past May.

A more involved, ongoing project is waterline maintenance. The crew, working in conjunction with a local marine engineer, uses a portable cofferdam to clean sections of the waterline, identify leaks, fill holes with composite resin, then prime and paint the repairs. They completed 33 feet of Olympia’s waterline in 2021. Overall, they have repaired over 200 feet of Olympia’s 700-foot waterline. The waterline maintenance project is supported by a grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Independence Seaport Museum is dedicated to the preservation of Cruiser Olympia for future generations. Follow them on social media @phillyseaport or visit www.phillyseaport. org to get project updates and to learn how you can help conserve this piece of naval history.

Cruiser Olympia, the oldest floating steel warship in the world, is still afloat thanks to the constant, careful maintenance performed by Independence Seaport Museum’s shipkeepers. One of the most significant preservation efforts in 2020–2021 was a fundraiser to install new quarterdeck railings. This added 2,500 square feet of deck space to the public route. With funds successfully raised, the quarterdeck opened for the first time in two decades this past May.