The Tablets Of The Missing

Constructed from blocks of portland stone a type of limestone quarried on the south coast of England, the Tablets Of the Missing stretch a total of four hundred and seventy two feet in length and contain the details of five thousand one hundred and twenty six missing in action, lost or buried at sea in addition to those who gave their lives but could not be positively identified. Every State of the Union is represented on the tablets and include names of three thousand five hundred and twenty four United States Air Force and Army Air Force Personnel, one thousand three hundred and seventy one Naval personnel, two hundred and one Coast Guard personnel and thirty United States Marine Corps personnel.

Along the top of the wall is the following inscription:

THE AMERICANS WHOSE NAMES HERE APPEAR
WERE PART OF THE PRICE THAT FREE MEN
FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THIS CENTUARY
HAVE BEEN FORCED TO PAY TO DEFEND
HUMAN LIBERTY AND RIGHTS
ALL WHO SHALL HEREAFTER LIVE IN FREEDOM
WILL BE HERE REMINDED THAT TO THESE MEN
AND THEIR COMRADES
WE OWE A DEBT TO BE PAID
WITH GRATEFUL REMEMBERANCE OF THEIR SACRIFICE
AND THE HIGH RESOLVE THAT THE CAUSE FOR WHICH THEY DIED
SHALL LIVE ETERNALLY

The words of the inscription are taken from the dedication by President Eisenhower of the Golden Book which is enshrined in St Paul's Cathedral in London.

Four statues adorn the wall and represent a soldier, a sailor, an airman and a coast guard. The statues were designed by Wheeler Williams of New York.

Notable names that appear on the Tablets Of The Missing are Glen Miller and Joseph Kennedy, Jr.

The tablet at the top of the steps leading to the Great Mall from the direction of the flag pole adjacent to the Visitors Building.

Section of the Tablets Of The Missing that has the name of Joseph Kennedy Jr. inscribed upon it.

One of the Polyantha Roses that line the route of the Great Mall.

Double Pink Hawthorn Trees lining the Great Mall. The West Mall stretches northward away from the flag pole area to the lower gates of the cemetery. The broad walk passes between rows of Japanese Pagoda trees.