Streamed live on October 6, 2022
The massive effort to bring home the remains of fallen American service members after World War II, commonly referred to as the “Return of the Dead” operation, was one of the largest and most logistically complex endeavors ever undertaken by the U.S. government. This operation underscored the nation’s commitment to honoring its war dead and providing closure to grieving families.
Historian Bill Biegel joins us to talk about this post-WWII operation as captured in his new book, “Buried on the Battlefield? Not My Boy: The Return of the Dead from World War Two.”
By the end of World War II in 1945, over 280,000 American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines had died overseas. Their remains were scattered across temporary cemeteries, battlefields, and isolated burial sites throughout Europe, the Pacific, North Africa, and Asia. The U.S. government, recognizing the immense sacrifices made by these individuals and the need for their families to grieve and honor them, initiated a multi-year operation to locate, identify, and repatriate their bodies.
The program was overseen by the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS), a specialized branch of the military tasked with the identification and repatriation of the deceased. Families of the fallen were given a solemn choice: to have their loved ones’ remains returned to the United States for burial in a hometown or national cemetery, or to leave them interred in newly established permanent American military cemeteries overseas, which would be maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).
The logistical process of repatriating the remains was daunting. The first challenge was the recovery of the bodies. AGRS teams, composed of military personnel, morticians, and archaeologists, combed battlefields, hospital records, and temporary gravesites to locate remains. In many cases, the chaotic conditions of war and the passage of time made this an arduous task. Personal effects, dog tags, and dental records were key tools in identifying the dead. Forensic methods, advanced for the era, were employed, including the use of anthropological analysis to reconstruct identities when other records were unavailable.
Once identified, the remains were carefully prepared for transport. This process included embalming, re-coffinization, and meticulous documentation to ensure that no mistakes were made. The bodies were placed in uniform caskets and draped with American flags. They were then transported to major ports where they were loaded onto specially designated ships. One such vessel, the SS Joseph V. Connolly, became a symbol of this solemn mission, ferrying thousands of the war dead across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The arrival of these ships in the United States was marked by solemn ceremonies and public mourning. In some cases, local communities held parades or memorial services to honor the fallen. From the ports, the remains were transported by train or hearse to their final destinations, often accompanied by military escorts.
For families who opted to have their loved ones’ remains buried overseas, the ABMC established and maintained meticulously landscaped cemeteries, such as the Normandy American Cemetery in France and the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines. These sites became places of pilgrimage and enduring remembrance, ensuring that the sacrifices of American soldiers were honored on foreign soil.
The operation faced numerous challenges. Identifying remains from mass graves or battlefields was especially difficult, as was dealing with logistical hurdles in post-war Europe and the Pacific. In some cases, remains could not be recovered due to the nature of combat or environmental conditions. Despite these obstacles, the AGRS succeeded in repatriating the majority of the dead, an effort that provided closure to countless families and reinforced the nation’s promise to its military personnel: no one would be forgotten.
The “Return of the Dead” operation was not only a technical achievement but also a profound act of national respect and remembrance. It highlighted the United States’ dedication to its fallen soldiers and their families, leaving a lasting legacy of honor and commitment that continues to resonate in military traditions today.
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