Searching for unknown US Army casualty

Discussion in 'US Units' started by Michael Somerville, Jul 12, 2021.

  1. Temujin

    Temujin Member

    Actually the repatriation of the bodies was the immediate families decision. When the serviceman/woman died, they were initially interred in temporary site cemetaries near where they died (similar to Commonwealth soldiers) and then after the war (actually the family was contacted even before the war ended), every family that “lost” a US service relative in the war was “ASKED” if they would like the them brought back to the US (or other location) for internment or left in the American Battlefield Commission maintained cemetaries. The repatriation of US servicemen and women was a HUGE project, with thousands and thousand of servicemen/women being repatriated on special ships, then shipped all over the US, Canada to their final resting place.

    In my family (my great uncle) who was born in Canada, but was a dual citizen by law, joined the US Military and was killed on Angaur Island, Palau Group, and I have the documentation asking my grandfather what he wished…..his hand written answer was “leave him buried with his mates”……so he is interred in the Manila US Cemetery.

    I had ordered my uncles military records, but unfortunately they were part of the “burnt” records in 1970 BUT the archives put me in contact with a different department, that holds ALL the records in respect in internment’s….so I was able to get records that showed when and where he died, where he was “temporarily” buried (on Angaur Island), and his finally resting spot in Manila
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2021
    Osborne2, 17thDYRCH and BrianHall1963 like this.

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