Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

As preparations begin to get under way for Remembrance Day on November 11, it's worth noting that almost 20,000 of the 80,000 Canadians who died in World War I have no identifiable grave. Those who could be identified as Canadian have gravestones inscribed "A Canadian Soldier of the Great War - known unto God." In 2000, Canada created the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to represent all Canadian service people who have no known grave.

The Canadian government asked the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to select a grave of an unidentified Canadian soldier in the Vimy Ridge area of France. The remains of the soldier were brought back to Canada and buried in the sarcophagus of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Nothing is known about the soldier who is buried in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, except that he was Canadian, he died in France during World War I, and he was young.

Photo Courtesy City of Ottawa

More About Canada and World War I
Pictures of the Battle of Vimy Ridge
Pictures of the Battle of Passchendaele
Canadian Battles in World War I
Canada and World War I