Mason County teen places wreath at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day

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MASON COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – A local teen participated in a special national ceremony this Memorial Day.

Preston McCormick of Mason County helped lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. He and Dr. Wayne Reynolds of the Vietnam Veterans of America walked the guard line together to present the wreath at the graveside.

Preston, a Wahama High School honor student, is currently completing a week-long internship at VVA and working in the IT, marketing and government affairs departments. He will enter 10th grade in the fall.

Preston says the honor was special to him because his family's military background helped him understand the importance of Memorial Day.

“Today I had the opportunity to do something that very few people get the chance to do. I placed a wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier. Having a grandfather, a father and two brothers who served, I knew the importance of serving and I also knew that Memorial Day was dedicated to those who died for my freedom and for America,” Preston said . “Today I walked with Wayne Reynolds, a Vietnam veteran who served in Vietnam and also retired from teaching. It was an incredible honor to witness the ceremony and the site that houses the remains of those only God knows at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier serves as a “symbolic grave for all war dead whose remains have not been found or identified,” according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

The department says it was originally the resting place of an unidentified serviceman from World War I. Today, it is the grave of three unidentified soldiers. The sarcophagus contains the remains of the World War I soldier, while the remains of an unidentified World War II serviceman and an unidentified Korean War serviceman lie in smaller crypts in front.

A third empty crypt sits between World War II and Korean War graves to represent service members still missing from Vietnam, according to the Department of Defense.