It may seem the Tomb of the Unknowns is a little far afield for a blog based in Detroit. This is a nationally important issue, however, for it goes to the heart of how we memorialize our war dead and what an appropriate treatment is for monuments as the twin elements of time and weather threaten their historic fabric.
In the case of the Tomb of the Unknowns, a crack is clearly visible across the front face, going directly through the low relief sculpture. The essence of the debate as it stands now is to replace or repair. Replacement would involve retrieving similar stone from the same quarry that the original stone came from. The Cultural Resources Manager for the Army Corp notes in a report: “Removal and replacement of portions of the original monument will diminish the integrity of the monument’s design, materials, workmanship and possibly association.”
The National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation have recommended repair.
How this issue is resolved, will in large part determine how other monuments are treated. The trend is to not approach monuments, and war monuments especially, with the same respect that is given to historic buildings. By making a stand at the Tomb of the Unknowns, however, at least holds out hope this whole approach will change.
Bringing it back to Detroit, if one wants to see the appropriate treatment of a war monument, one only needs to look to the Solider and Sailors Monument, handsomely relocated and restored in the beautiful Campus Martius park.