An unidentified World War I US soldier whose remains were accidentally discovered in northern France last year was buried today with full military honors in the first ceremony of its kind in 35 years, reports RTE.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers – many undiscovered or unidentified – lie buried in northern France, the epicenter of the brutal trench warfare that defined the Western European front of the conflict between 1914 and 1918.
An unidentified American soldier is believed to have died in July 1918 and was identified as American based on equipment found along with some bones that were the only remains of his body.
He was buried today in the American Cemetery in Oise-Aisne, about 113 kilometers northeast of Paris, where the graves of more than 6,000 other American soldiers who died in the 1918 offensive against German forces are located, reports RTE.
The ceremony was attended by units of the French, American and German armies, during which the soldier was presented with a medal by the US Army Chief of Staff, James McConville.
Director of the cemetery, Hubert Caloud, said that for the first time since 1988, an American soldier was buried at the memorial of the War Commission of World War I in France.
“For 105 years, this guy was all alone. To have people leave work and be here is very meaningful. We are very content he is buried with his fellow soldiers,” Mr Caloud said, reports RTE.
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