The Fate of the Unknowns

Preservationists disagree.

"It isn't in any danger of falling apart," said Mary L. Oehrlein, a preservation architect and founder of Oehrlein & Associates, which conducted a detailed inspection of the monument in 1989. The surface is weathered, but the carving remains clear and the structure seems sound, she said.

"They want it perfect," she said of the cemetery. "I don't discount that thought process at all. But the only way to put a piece of stone there and make sure it stays perfect is to put it in a controlled environment. That's why you put things in a museum."

Sheldon Smith, a spokesman for the Army, said no final decision has been made on the monument's fate. Many factors must be weighed, he said, including where the cemetery might acquire a replacement stone.

Four years ago, after the desire to replace the monument became public, a retired Colorado car dealer, John Haines, offered to pay for a new stone to be cut from Loesby's quarry. Haines eventually shelled out $31,000. The stone was cut and ever since has been sitting on a flatbed tractor-trailer at the quarry awaiting conclusion of the debate.

Haines said it's been frustrating. He owns a huge block of marble that he just wants to give to the government. "They don't even have to be gracious," he said. "They just have to accept it."

But the block might sit awhile longer.

Public sentiment at the tomb last week seemed strongly against replacement.

"To me this is what our country's about," said John Zachara of Chicago. "The Liberty Bell cracked. They didn't throw it away, did they?"