bigwheelzip
Absent Comrade
As we honor our war dead, on this day dedicated to them, I am most affected by something I came to realize last summer, visiting American war cemeteries in Europe. I assumed Seaman and Aircrews often perished without trace, the extent which that happened to foot soldiers surprised me.
While all but one that served from my family survived combat, and the one uncle that did not is respectfully interred at a National Cemetery, many thousands of families did not get that closure. I had thought that most who died in the field had the location of their remains marked for later retrieval, like has been portrayed in most war movies. However, many thousands just disappeared into the soil they fought over, and others were found but unidentifiable.
What I think of when I see the names of these lost warriors inscribed on walls of honor, is the loved ones that sent their boy "over there" and had to endure the pain of loss without closure.
Those US warriors remains that are found but not identified are honored this way. They are "KNOWN BUT TO GOD".
At American cemeteries near the battlefields, the names of the lost are inscribed in stone under "SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES", if remains are later identified, a metal rosette is affixed next to their name. At the Somme American Cemetery, there are 200 more names on the wall, than there are unidentified crosses on the grounds.
WWI warriors SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES at the Somme:
WWI warriors SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES at Aisne - Marne:
WWII warriors SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES at Normandy:
WWII warriors SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES at Lorraine:
While all but one that served from my family survived combat, and the one uncle that did not is respectfully interred at a National Cemetery, many thousands of families did not get that closure. I had thought that most who died in the field had the location of their remains marked for later retrieval, like has been portrayed in most war movies. However, many thousands just disappeared into the soil they fought over, and others were found but unidentifiable.
What I think of when I see the names of these lost warriors inscribed on walls of honor, is the loved ones that sent their boy "over there" and had to endure the pain of loss without closure.
Those US warriors remains that are found but not identified are honored this way. They are "KNOWN BUT TO GOD".
At American cemeteries near the battlefields, the names of the lost are inscribed in stone under "SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES", if remains are later identified, a metal rosette is affixed next to their name. At the Somme American Cemetery, there are 200 more names on the wall, than there are unidentified crosses on the grounds.
WWI warriors SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES at the Somme:
WWI warriors SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES at Aisne - Marne:
WWII warriors SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES at Normandy:
WWII warriors SLEEP IN UNKNOWN GRAVES at Lorraine:
Last edited:
