Remains of Spitfire and Pilot heading back to Australia.

[Shangas]

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/w...ance-headed-for-australia-20110210-1aop3.html

 

[HepKitty]

Good article, thanks!

 

[Treetopflyer]

Great to hear that he will be returned home. Although, I am amazed that they were able to find any remains of him after all that time in the water.

 

[Kopf-Jaeger]

Very nice for the family to have that kind of closure and also for the pilot to have much better grave than the bottom of a river.

 

[TimeWarpWife]

Very nice for the family to have that kind of closure and also for the pilot to have much better grave than the bottom of a river.

You're right about the closure for the family. My dh's great-uncle was MIA in France in WWII and his body was never found. Very sad because his mother and siblings all passed without ever knowing exactly what happened to him.

 

[Cricket]

Reading articles such as these about MIA cases really hit my heart strings. I can't imagine having to deal with not knowing the details. But I think the idea of hoping he/she survived and possibly receiving that phone call would be harder to deal with everyday. Then again, that hope is what keeps many going I suppose.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Chas]

Reading the article closely, I see that he will be buried in France and the a/c is going to Aus. That's appropriate. The CWGC has long maintained that our dead (Empire & Commonwealth) are not to be repatriated and I happen to agree with this policy.

 

[Treetopflyer]

Interesting

The CWGC has long maintained that our dead (Empire & Commonwealth) are not to be repatriated

Why? Just curious.

 

[Chas]

Repatriation of remains has never really been a policy of the British military, with extreme notable exception - i.e. Horatio Nelson (who was entombed in the sarcophagus originally intended for Henry VIII). The non-repatriation agreement dates back to 1917 when the charter was originally drawn up. I believe that it had something to do with the sheer numbers of WWI dead and the logistics of repatriating what would eventually reach 1,000,000 dead. One Canadian mother snuck into the cemetary and stole her son's body and repatriated it herself, and he is buried in the family plot in Ontario. Among the guiding principles of the CWGC are that all dead are commemorated by name somewhere and that all casualties are given equal treatment, regardless of rank or social class.

Most, but not all cemeteries of the CWGC have received excellent care and attention. One cemetary in Iraq was neglected until the USMC found themselves stationed nearby, and they assisted in the reclamation/restoration of Al Kut Cemetary. The text of the report is this:

AL KUT, Iraq(May 8, 2003) -- Marines from Service Platoon, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade Headquarters Group, held a rededication ceremony at Kut Cemetery in Al Kut May 8.

In April, Marines from Task Force Tarawa visited the small plot of land believed to be the final resting place for soldiers who fought in World War I as British troops sought an alternative route to the center of the Ottoman Empire. With Gallipoli a failing battle - the British decided to approach via Mesopotamia - now modern day Iraq.

The troops landed in Umm Quasr and moved north to Baghdad through the Tigris River valley. North of Al Kut but south of the capital, the British troops found they could push no further. They fell back to Kut where they were besieged for approximately six months. Many found their final resting place here.

The cemetery was overgrown with weeds and littered with trash. The headstones have been weathered and damaged; some were not visible due to the dense vegetation, some had toppled over and were broken.

The Marines of Task Force Tarawa felt the condition of the cemetery was appalling and decided to do something about it.

Eventually, the Marines restored headstones, cut the grass, removed the weeds and picked up the trash.

Lt. Gen. James T. Conway participated in the May 8 rededication. Some British soldiers also attended the event.

I myself agree with the non-repatriation policy. In my view it encourages my countrymen and those of other countries who care about such things to journey to other countries to tend to the memory of the fallen where they fell. It's a sort of pilgrimage. I think that it's special and it has it's own power to walk where our ancestors and forbears walked, suffered, fought and died.

p.s. I see that the CWGC cemetery in Berlin, Germany has been damaged by wild boars. Perhaps our city dwelling German neighbors need to rediscover their love of pork.

p.p.s. Check out the CWGC website. It's well put-together and there are some interesting events planned through this summer.

 

[Treetopflyer]

Thanks for the insight.