The idea of creating a New Zealand tomb for an unknown soldier was first raised during 1921, and resurfaced periodically during the next century. The project to bring the soldier back was dubbed 'Operation Valhalla' and cost approximately $1 million, which included construction of the tomb, flights and accommodation and other expenses. Māori ritual was involved during the creation of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. A
Te Āti Awa elder (
kaumātua) blessed the site at the start and end of construction, and the Unknown Warrior was accompanied from France to New Zealand by the New Zealand Defence Force Maori Cultural Group, recognising Māori protocol that the dead should never be left alone. were handed over from the care of the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission to a New Zealand delegation during a ceremony at
Longueval,
Somme,
France.
New Zealand Defence Force chief,
Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson, who had the task of repatriating the Warrior's remains, said of the occasion "I told him [the Warrior] we're taking him home and that those who are taking him home are soldiers, sailors and airmen, past and present. I asked the Warrior to be the guardian of all military personnel who had died on active service. I then promised that we, the people of New Zealand, will be his guardian for ever". The warrior arrived in New Zealand on 10 November 2004. While he lay in state at
Parliament Buildings an estimated 10,000 people paid their respects. The warrior was laid to rest on the 86th
Armistice Day, 11 November 2004, after a service at
St Paul's Anglican Cathedral and a 2.85 km
slow march procession through the streets of Wellington, lined by about 100,000 people. At 3:59pm, the tomb was sealed with a
bronze mantel bearing the words: The warrior is one of more than 1500 New Zealanders killed at the
Somme. Most of them, 1272, remained unidentified and are buried in unmarked graves or remembered on memorial walls. The remains of the unknown warrior are thought to include an almost complete skeleton, and other belongings that established his nationality beyond doubt. ==Awards==