The Washington herald., 1919-12-30
READY TO BRING
HERO DEADHOME
Detachment Is to Sail for
France Next Monday to
Disinter Bodies.
FIRST DUE IN MONTH
Those Who Were Buried
Where They Fell to Be
Last Returned.

- A detachment of fifty civilian en-
pioyes Of the Graves Registration
Service of the War Department. many
Of them washingtonians, will leave
ext Monday for France. where they
will supervise the disinterment OF
American dead in Europe for ship
ment to the United States.
The work. which has been in process
Of preparation. under direction of
Col Harry F. Rethers. director OF
mortuary operations in Europe. for
several months. will make good the
promise given by the United States
government to return dead heroes to
relatives here for burial at their
homes.
Initial operations will be in those
zones without the one known as the
zone of the armies" where approx
mately 5000 were buried virtually
where they fell in battle.
Personnel of Detachment.
The personnel Of this detachment
the first to depart for France-will be
composed mainly of undertakers, en-
balmers, cOnvoyers, surveyors and
stan of clerks. The latter will be en-
gagged with the paper work" involved
in tracing the soldiers body from the
time Of disinterment to its delivery
TO the claimant.
IL has been figured there are about
1900 American soldiers buried in Eng
= land France. Italy. Germany and In
isolated areas of Middle Europe. They
aTe the dead who sucCumbed. mostly
in the hospitals, from sickness or
from wounds. This number Will be
disinterred Immediately while those
in the zone of the armies cannot yet
be recovered.
The French detachment will work
out of Brest, St NaZaire and Bord-
eaux. all formerly populous with
. Yanks. 1t will be assisted by labor
groups recruited from Americans in
France. or among the French.
First to Arrive In Month. 4
II was said yesterday by Col.
Charles Pierce. in charge of the work
from this end. that the first recovered
bodies from England probably would
arrive in the United States within
month A detachment recently left
for England to take charge of this
work in Great Britain.
Details of the transportation of the
bodies in the United States are yet TO
be arranged II is probable the army
transports will carry the bodies across
the ocean.
1t is striking commentary on the
sentiment for the return of dead
heroes to America that a canvass re-
Gently made by the War Department
showed 75 per cent of the relatives of
dead soldiers wish their bodies to be
D brought back to the country for which
they fought.
Elaborate Ceremonies Probable.
Elaborate ceremonials doubtlessly
will be planned when the hero dead
arrive at ports in this country. Mil
itary corteges will meet the bodies at
the piers as was done in honor of the
dead heroes returned from Siberia.
There have been no soldiers
bodies officially returned to America
from the European zones, Col.
Pierce says. One or two cases
have been disclosed. however, where
parents Of soldier dead have re-
covered their bodies without OBJ
tair .ug the approval of the authori-
ties at the time. An instance is
known to the Graves Registration
of soldier from a chapel in Paris.
the parents being aided to trans
port the body from France by the
French.
About January Is another detach-
ment will leave for France to elab-
crate the work. Several detach-
ments will follow. The personnel
TO recover American soldier dead in
France will include about 300 su-
pervisors. Their services are con-
, tracted for one year.
Men Only Employed.
Headquarters in the Signal Coru
/. Building here has been busted for
some time with hundreds of appli-
cations of those seeking service So
this work.
At one time there was a rumor
that women were to be employed
Consequently hundreds applied only
10 be told this was strictly mans
work" But two American women
will be engaged for an office in
Paris as advisers.