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PFC Luther "Woody" Bagley was returned to his family and laid to rest Friday.
His widow and son were present.
I learned that this is the correct thing to do from Heinlein.
You don't spare any expense to make sure everyone is accounted for and given proper burials.
Everyone.
No matter how long it takes and how much we have to spend.
Even if we don't know exactly who they are. We have a tomb for that too.
Every time I read or watch a story about these recoveries, it still brings tears to my eyes. Since WWI, my family has not lost anyone in America's wars, but I grew up with family friends who lost someone. My wife and I served post Vietnam in the USAF.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you're a fan of Sabaton, but their song Soldier of Heaven speaks about this, albeit regarding WWI. I won't provide a link, as I don't want to offend anyone here, and Sabaton is not to everyone's taste.
After feckless countries who we saved during WWII started getting bitchy about having our dead on their soil, yeah, make the pickup. Work damn hard for eternity to find the lost and recover them. Leave no more American dead on foreign soil.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the other way to do it is annex any cemetery that holds our servicemen. Or the host country could and should cede said territory to the US.
Either way, our boys and girls should come home to US soil.