Evening star., 1947-10-20
20 War Dead
To Be Buried
80
Trumun Will Attend
Arlington Rites for
First Returned to u. S.
By John A. Giles
Star Stoff corraspondant

By John A. Giles
Star stoff Correspondent
ADELP PHIA, Oct. 40
Bodies of 20 men from throughout
the Nation who died in World
War II will be buried with special
ceremonies at Arlington National
Ceremony October 30, it was an
aounced today. President Truman
will attend.
A total of l24 of the 1926 bodies
that reached the distribution center
of the Philadelphia Quartermaster
Depot here today are destined for
burial at Arlington after special
rites. Next of kin of % of ths
325 live in the District.
The bodies are the first to be re-
turned from the Pacific. After final
checking and inspection, they will
be sent to the next of kin with
special military escorts.
No bodies will be sent to Wash.
lngton until just before the Arling-
ton mass burial, officials said. Others
Will begin moving out Thursday
and will include several whose next
to kin reside in Maryland and Vir-
ginia.
District Families Notified.
Those destined for the Arlington
burial may include some of the
hrst group which arrived here to.
day, plus several from the first ship
load from the European theater
expected to reach New York later
this week, The bodies which came
by special train to Philadelphia to-
day aboard the Army transport
Honda Knot which docked at San
Francisco October 10.
Among them were some who fell
at Pearl Harbor and others who
died on invasion beaches through
out the Pacific.
District families previously had
been notified of arrival of the bodies
in this country and were queried
for confirmation of their wishes on
services and burial.
Most of the District area families
had been notified today of the time
and date of the Arlington rites and
had been told to inform the Mill
tary District of Washington on their
plans to attend the ceremonies and
whether they desired to follow the
mass tribute with private grave
side services.
Escorts to Accompany Bodies.
Military honors will be rendered
without regard for race, rank or
creed of the deceased. Chaplains
OF all faiths will be present to par
ticipate in the ceremonies. The
names of those to be buried in
Arlington are not yet available
pending arrangements with next of
kin.
Brig. Gen. George A. Horkan,
chief of the American Graves Regis
tration Service and resident Of
2S18 Thirty-sixth place NV. WASH
ington, said that each statuary
bronze casket and plywood metal
lined overcase will be thoroughly
checked and inspected at the depot.
Each body will be accompanied by
a military escort of the same serv-
Ice and of equal or higher rank
than the deceased. Gen. Horkan
said that these escorts received ex-
tensive training at Camp Lee, Va.
The caskets will be draped with
4 new flag and the escorts will carry
4 second flag to present to the next
Of kin when services have been
Nurses Body Arrives.
The bodies arrived here in spe-
cially equipped Army hospital
cars, 80 bodies to the car.
Among the bodies arriving at the
depot today was that of Second 1t.
Louise M. Hollister of Denton, Nd,
an Army nurse and the only woman
included in the first trainload to
Philadelphia. She first was buried
at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Col. Turner z. Sharp, command
ing officer of the depot. Mayor
Bernard Samuel of Philadelphia
and representatives of the Gold
Star Mothers and Gold Star Wives
md the major veterans organiza-
lions were at the depot when the
rain arrived. There was no special
Next of kin may designate burial
in Arlington, national cemetery
Dr. a private cemetery.
Flags on Federal buildings in
and throughout the
Nation flew at half-staff October 10
as the transport Honda Knot drop
ped anchor in San Francisco Bay.
simple wreath of leaves from
President Truman was sent aboard
the ship, and a half-hour memorial
service was held before it moved
on to dock at Oakland Army Base.
Flags will fly at half-staf again
about october 26 as the ship Joseph
V. Connolly arrives in New York
from Europe with about $500 dead,
most of them from the Henry
Chapelle Cemetery in Belgium.
OF an estimated $4,000 American
servicemen killed or missing in
World War II, only those who have
been identified and whose families
indicated they want them returned
are being brought back to this
country.
Estimates of officials on the num-
ber who ultimately will be returned
have ranged from less than one-half
to about three-fourths of the 257,-
900 whose graves so far have been
located and identified
Kin of fallen servicemen have
four choices for their burial: Ma
tional cemeteries in this country.
private cemeteries here, permanent
cemeteries overseas or
private cemeteries overseas.