Greenwood daily commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1919-1926, 1920-04-13
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WASHINGTON
NEWS LETTER
b. The Washington Star
Copyright 1920.
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terment of 44,000 American soldiers
buried in Europe, and the return of
The bodies to the United States, is
now waiting on negotiations with the
French government to get permission
to remove the American dead from
the war zone; and recent War De-
partment statement said that as soon
as it becomes possible to do so the
work preliminary to the actual trans
fer of the bodies designated for re-
turn to this country will begin.
The United States will bring back
to this country free of charge all the
soldiers dead whose relatives request
such action, and in reply to some 75,-
600 queries sent to relatives of SOL
diers buried abroad, $4,000 replies
We're received requesting return of the
bodies to this country. 1880 replies
asked that bodies remain in the coun-
try where the soldier is now buried,
and there were 800 requests for re-
burials in countries other than the
United States. In the remaining cas-
es where no replies were received the
bodies will be left in the large Amer
lean cemeteries in France, Belgium or
the British Isles.
All bodies of American soldiers bur-
led in Germany or Luxemburg are to
be removed, whether OR not request is
made, and will either be returned to
this country or permanently buried in
France. The Graves Registration Ser
vice a branch of the quartermaster
corps, shows the following interments
of American soldiers abroad:
France, in the zone of the armies
(removal at present prohibited) 53,-
045; France, zone of the interior, IT,
SOC; British Isles, 2,519; Germany, l.
207; Belgium, LOIS; Luxemburg, 154;
North Russia, LII; Italy, 76; Spain 2.
In addition a number of graves of
American dead buried in three ceme-
teries in AustriaHungary have been
located but not registered.
"All our dead have been returned
from Siberia" says a recent state
ment by Secretary of War Baker, zone
hundred and eleven from North Rus
sia; some of those buried in southern
England have been received and the
arrival of other bodies from the same
region is daily expected; all bodies
from the Brest region in France are
soon to arrive; and the Graves Regis
tration personnel is actively operating
in various European centers.
The War Department wishes to re-
iterate its pledge that no body will re-
main abroad which is desired by the
next Of kin to be returned to this
country, and no effort will be spared
to accord fitting and tender care to
those which by request Of the families
concerned, will remain overseas in the
Fields of Honor"
Though removal Of bodies from the
zone of the armies, where more than
two-thirds of the American dead are
buried, is now prohibited by a minis
terial decree, the Graves Registration
Service is carrying on it's work of
Identification and concentration there.
From more than $4,000 isolated single
graves, and from about 2,40O small
burial plots the bodies of our men
have been concentrated into less than
800 locations,
Reference to isolated graves was
made in a statement from the office
of the quartermaster general on Apr
il which said:
"Some relatives insist on having the
bodies of their dead remain where
they were first buried. Necessarily
the decision adopted by the War De-
partment places the responsibility for
the concession and future mainten-
ance of the graves thus remaining
scattered throughout France and Eng
land upon the relatives of the deceas-
ed The better plan would be for the
relatives of the deceased to permit
the War Department to place these
bodies at its expense in our permanent
cemeteries in France where they will
be under government control and
maintenance without there being any
expense whatever attaching to the re-
latives of the soldier dead"
The method followed in taking up
the bodies of American soldiers for
return to their native soil is describ-
ed in local paper of Stamford, Eng
land, from which place several bodies
were removed, in the following way:
'That portion of Gods Acre where
the interments took place during 1918
| was screened off from public view
and the public was not admitted to the
cemetery while the operations were II
progress.
Each body was carefully wrapped
| in khaki sheet and lifted into zint
| and copper lined she'll. A disc bearing
the name Of the departed soldier was
pinned to the sheet, and the whole
| was draped in white material. A dom
/ ed metal lid was then placed on tn
shell and hermetically sealed down
/ Each shell was afterwards enclose'
in beautiful polished walnut coffil
which was placed in stout woode
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