dave
Brigadier General
Posts: 1,679
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Post by dave on May 28, 2016 2:33:00 GMT
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dave
Brigadier General
Posts: 1,679
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Post by dave on May 28, 2016 20:25:15 GMT
It is believed there were approximately 520 Marines who's graves have been lost on Tarawa. The bodies were buried and the locations carefully noted after the battle. The US forces rebuilt the airfield and several roads so that in 1946 the excavation team could not locate the cemetery. In 1949 the remains were declared “unrecoverable” by the Quartermaster General’s Office
Efforts have been ongoing since 2008 to discover the locations and many have been recovered and returned home for ID. In 2015 Cemetery 27 was discovered which contained 36 remains one of who was Medal of Honor awardee First Lt. Alexander Bonnyman Jr. Regards Dave
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Post by Beth on May 28, 2016 20:55:47 GMT
It's great that modern science allows not only for the bodies to be found but then returned home with their names.
When you think of it the thought of bringing every fallen soldier home is a very modern idea when it comes to the history of warfare
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dave
Brigadier General
Posts: 1,679
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Post by dave on May 29, 2016 0:54:33 GMT
Beth The advancement in the science of embalming enabled families to have their lost family members prepared and shipped home during the War of 1861-1865. President McKinley, a veteran of Antietam, dispatched teams to return dead Americans after the Spanish-American War and the 1901–1902 Philippine-American War. Over 70,000 Americans fell during WW I and in 1920 began sending home 46,000 with the others being buried in various cemeteries in Europe. I located this article that pertains to this subject located below. Regards Dave www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/us/intricate-rituals-for-fallen-americans-troops.html?pagewanted=all
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