Memorial Day: Tomb of the Unknowns

This morning, in commemoration of Memorial Day, President Obama laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns, a monument to American soldiers who have died in the service of their country without their remains being identified.

The ceremonial wreath is laid every Memorial Day and the Tomb attracts over four million visitors a year. Visitors to the monument will notice large cracks running horizontally through the tomb. First noticed in the 60's, the cracks sparked a still ongoing conversation about how to repair a national monument.

Direct Dimensions was asked to laser scan the Tomb of the Unknowns to document the existing damage to the monument.

The data can be used for documentation, preservation or even replication of the monument. Because of our 3D scanning, a digital record now exists of the Tomb of the Unknowns.

In addition to a digital record, the data can also be used to "repair" the cracks in a 3D model and then be used to create a perfect replication of the Tomb should that ever be necessary.