Veterans Day Flash Cards
Flashcard 1
Q: What day and time is Veterans Day observed every year?
A: The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, continuing the Armistice Day tradition from November 11, 1918.
Flashcard 2
Q: Who changed Armistice Day to Veterans Day, and in what year?
A: President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1954, officially renamed Armistice Day to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.
Flashcard 3
Q: What war did Armistice Day originally commemorate?
A: World War I, honoring those who died.
Flashcard 4
Q: What annual ceremony takes place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Veterans Day?
A: The President or the President’s designee lays a remembrance wreath and delivers an address at Arlington National Cemetery's Memorial Amphitheater.
SECTION 2 — Eisenhower’s Speech & WWII Context
Flashcard 5
Q: When and where did Eisenhower give his emotional speech about sacrifice?
A: At an 82nd Airborne Division luncheon in Chicago in July 1952.
Flashcard 6
Q: What key WWII operation did Eisenhower command?
A: The Normandy landings (D-Day) as the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, leading to the liberation of northwestern Europe.
Flashcard 7
Q: Why did Eisenhower pause during his 1952 speech?
A: He said he was “frightened” of breaking down while reflecting on soldiers’ sacrifices.
SECTION 3 — James R. Tanner Amphitheater (Original Amphitheater)
Flashcard 8
Q: Who designed the first Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington, and in what year?
A: U.S. Army Quartermaster Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs in 1873.
Flashcard 9
Q: How fast was the original amphitheater constructed?
A: In less than one month, completed in time for Memorial Day 1873.
Flashcard 10
Q: What architectural features did the original amphitheater include?
A:
Ellipse-shaped brick pergola
Sunken grass bowl
12 Ionic columns forming a rostrum
Young plantings (grapes, wisteria) to cover the pergola
Flashcard 11
Q: When was the amphitheater renamed the James R. Tanner Memorial Amphitheater?
A: May 30, 2014, during Arlington Cemetery’s 150th Anniversary.
Flashcard 12
Q: Who was James R. Tanner?
A:
Civil War veteran, 87th NY Volunteer Infantry
Lost both legs at the Second Battle of Bull Run (1862)
Stenographer for Abraham Lincoln
Commissioner of Pensions & Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic
Buried a few yards from the amphitheater
Flashcard 13
Q: When was the Tanner Amphitheater restored, and what colors were added?
A: 2015–2019 restoration.
Rostrum base & ambulatory piers → yellow
Ionic column capitals & bases → metallic bronze
SECTION 4 — The Grand Memorial Amphitheater
Flashcard 14
Q: Why was a new amphitheater built in the early 1900s?
A: The U.S. had become a world power, requiring a more grand, monumental structure to reflect modern ideas of honor.
Flashcard 15
Q: Who designed the Memorial Amphitheater?
A: Thomas Hastings of Carrère & Hastings, completed 1920.
Flashcard 16
Q: When was the cornerstone of the Memorial Amphitheater laid, and by whom?
A: October 13, 1915, by President Woodrow Wilson.
Flashcard 17
Q: What items were included in the time capsule placed in the cornerstone?
A:
The American flag
Copies of the Bible
U.S. currency and 1915 postage stamps
Declaration of Independence
U.S. Constitution
L’Enfant’s map for Washington, D.C.
Architectural plans of the amphitheater
Flashcard 18
Q: What battles are inscribed on the marble frieze of the Memorial Amphitheater?
A: 44 battles, from the Revolutionary War through the Spanish–American War.
Flashcard 19
Q: How many generals and admirals are inscribed, and where?
A: 14 U.S. Army generals and 14 U.S. Navy admirals, carved on each side of the stage.
Flashcard 20
Q: Translate the Latin inscription “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.”
A: “It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.”
Flashcard 21
Q: What quotes appear in the amphitheater?
A:
George Washington (1775): “When we assumed the soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen.”
Abraham Lincoln (Gettysburg Address, 1863): “That these dead shall not have died in vain.”
SECTION 5 — Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Flashcard 22
Q: When was the Unknown Soldier of WWI interred in the U.S.?
A: November 11, 1921.
Flashcard 23
Q: Which nations created Unknown Soldier memorials before the U.S.?
A: England (Westminster Abbey) and France (Arc de Triomphe) in 1920.
Flashcard 24
Q: What wars are represented by the crypts at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?
A:
World War I (beneath sarcophagus)
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War (crypt now empty after identification in 1998)
Flashcard 25
Q: Who designed the marble sarcophagus, and from what marble?
A:
Designers: Architect Lorimer Rich & Sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones
Marble: Colorado Yule marble
Height: 11 ft
Width: 9 ft
Flashcard 26
Q: Who carved the sarcophagus and relief sculptures?
A:
Piccirilli Brothers carved Doric pilasters and rough panels
Hudson Jones completed carvings onsite, including wreaths and figures of peace, valor, and victory
Flashcard 27
Q: What is the inscription on the Tomb?
A: “Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God.”
Flashcard 28
Q: When was the sarcophagus unveiled?
A: April 9, 1932, without ceremony.
SECTION 6 — Guards of the Tomb (The Sentinels)
Flashcard 29
Q: When did the U.S. begin guarding the Tomb continuously?
A: 1937 — 24/7, 365-day vigil began.
Flashcard 30
Q: What regiment guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?
A: The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as “The Old Guard.”
Flashcard 31
Q: Describe the Sentinel’s 21-step routine and what “21” symbolizes.
A:
21 steps down the mat
21-second pause facing east
21-second pause facing north
Repeat
21 = the 21-gun salute, highest military honor.
Flashcard 32
Q: What key lines come from the Sentinel’s Creed?
A:
“I will walk my tour in humble reverence…
Surrounded by well-meaning crowds by day, alone in the thoughtful peace of night…
This soldier will in honored glory rest under my eternal vigilance.”
SECTION 7 — Architectural Terms (From PDF)
Flashcard 33
Q: Define rostrum.
A: A raised platform used for speeches.
Flashcard 34
Q: Define pergola.
A: An outdoor structure made of vertical columns and horizontal beams, usually providing shade.
Flashcard 35
Q: Define colonnade.
A: A row of columns supporting a roof.
Flashcard 36
Q: Define ambulatory.
A: A round walkway or path for moving around a structure.
Flashcard 37
Q: Define apse.
A: A semi-circular recess in a building (often behind a stage or altar).
Flashcard 38
Q: Define Beaux-Arts.
A: An ornate, grand architectural style with classical influence.
Flashcard 39
Q: Define Neoclassical.
A: A style inspired by Ancient Greece and Rome, emphasizing order and symmetry.
SECTION 8 — Video: Soldiers Who Guard the Tomb
(From your slide PDF link)
(Flashcards on typical facts covered in that documentary.)
Flashcard 40
Q: What is the training and selection process for Tomb Sentinels known for?
A: It is considered among the hardest ceremonial duties, requiring months of discipline, precision, and knowledge of U.S. military history.
Flashcard 41
Q: What weather stops the guards from walking their tour?
A: None — Sentinels walk through rain, snow, hurricanes, extreme heat, and freezing cold.