Why are all tombstones identical in military cemeteries/sections?

I have never been in the military, so maybe I am unaware of an obvious answer. Why are the headstones all exactly the same in military sections/cemeteries? To me, it seems like they want everyone to look like a cog in the wheel. Is that how a soldier is treated in life? Are they taught that they are not special, but just a small part of a bigger whole? I may be way off base, but that's my perspective at the moment.

 

They aren't. While it is true these headstones are standardized they can be adapted within a range of options. Most noteable are the Jewish grave markers -- a six-sided star rather than a cross.

Here a link you may find helpful:

http://www.cem.va.gov/docs/factsheets/hmm.pdf

 

Okay, that seems like a minor detail. The last national cemetery I was in was outside Sturgis, South Dakota. I did not see a single stone that was different. It would be very difficult to find someone buried in the cemetery, because not only are they identical, there are huge amounts of people buried there. Thanks for the link, regardless.

 

(The following is my educated guess)
Maybe it's because in the old times many of the soldiers who were compulsoty conscripted came from lower social classes, which meant that back then many neither had the funds nor some sort of social security to cover for the funerary rites and grave.
So this uniform gravestone could have started as a state funded grave to honour every soldier no matter where they came from and later on evolved to a uniform gravestone for every soldier, to signify that in the army a person's social stratum means nothing against rank and against God's eyes...to promote solidarity among comrades I guess?

Let's hope someone gives us feedback on this question.

 

There is also the additional element with British and Commonwealth graves of "equality in death"; standardised stones (you could not pay for a "better" one, only for an inscription at the base) and no laying out according to rank, or separation of officers from men. There are also allowances for religious symbols, or indeed none.

 

There is a a variety of options depending on the religion of the individual. Various Christian, Jewish, and other religions (e.g., Mormon, Hindu, etc.) and non-religious (e.g., atheist) are available. There is a visual guide here.

 

It was decided that all men were equal in death in the war after WW1 and therefore there is no distinguishing status to them.