Memorial Day

[GOYABEAN]

flag.gif RIP SIR

‘They thought he was never coming back’: Allentown WWII vet whose remains were recently identified set to be buried Saturday

U.S. Army Pvt. Earl E.R. Seibert of Allentown, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, has been accounted for some 80 years later.

In 1941, Earl Seibert of Allentown joined the 803rd Engineer Battalion.

He was eager to serve, and he was soon sent to the Philippines, where he would work to lengthen airfields for incoming planes and other aircraft.

Less than a year after he enlisted, Japanese forces invaded. Seibert, an Allentown High School graduate, and his battalion were captured and subjected to a 65-mile march, known today as the Bataan Death March.

He died on July 27, 1942, at the Cabanatuan POW Camp 1, where more than 2,500 POWs died during the war. He was 23 years old. His family was notified in August 1945 that Seibert had died of diptheria at the camp, according to Morning Call reporting.

It would be nearly 80 years, however, before Seibert’s family would find closure.

On Saturday, Seibert finally will be laid to rest in his hometown, with full military honors. His remains were identified late last year, thanks to ongoing efforts to recover and identify the remains of more than 80,000 missing U.S. servicemen and women.

A family’s tragedy

Seibert, who was a mechanic, grew up in Allentown and was the second oldest of 10 children. Like some of his family before him, Seibert wanted to serve in the military.

An injury from a bike accident, however, prevented him from being able to serve in a combat unit. When the 803rd Engineer Battalion was created, Seibert, who was qualified to join that unit, jumped at the opportunity. He and six of his friends, all from the area, joined up.

Any money he earned he had sent home to his family.

“It wasn’t just a sacrifice for our country,” said his niece, Ginny Lee Henry. “He did it for his family, too.”

Henry never knew her uncle, but she grew up close to some of her mother’s younger siblings, and to her grandparents, who spent many years contacting the military to try and get their son’s remains returned to them. Seibert’s mother contacted the military about it as late as the 1980s, roughly 40 years after his death.

Seibert’s parents knew he was missing and presumed dead; he was among U.S. and Filipino service members who had surrendered to the Japanese after months of fighting that began in December 1941, hours after the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor.

He was buried along with others in a common grave at the Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery. After the war, the American Graves Registration Service exhumed those buried in the common grave and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila. Only three personnel were able to immediately be identified.

Over the years, Seibert’s parents put out pleas to the public and the military to find out what happened to their son, and have him brought back to Allentown.

While the military was able to confirm that Seibert had died, the exact location of his remains were unknown until just last year.

Henry’s grandmother, before she died, gave her a gold star necklace with Seibert’s photo attached. Henry kept the search for Seibert going years later.

In 2017, she learned about The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), whose mission is to account for missing personnel in the country.

Not long after, Henry donated her blood to see if it could be used to identify Seibert later. Seibert’s youngest sibling, as well as a cousin, donated blood, too.

https://www.mcall.com/2024/05/23/the...ried-saturday/

[Frizratz]

Can't really add anything to this thread.
It's all been said.

We have a toast to those who gave all at my house.

Salute

[Excommunicated]

In case someone in your circle needs a reminder...

[xflyboy]

As you gather with loved ones to enjoy the holiday, take a moment to remember those who gave it all so we could enjoy the freedoms we have.
So many of those who sacrificed never got to enjoy all those freedom. Some where barely of legal age to serve, (some where not), but they all were willing to to give their all for this country.
Years ago I had the chance to visit an American cemetery on foreign soil. There is something very surreal and sobering standing among the graves of soldiers that sacrificed their lives for so many they would never know.
I can stand proudly, say "THANK YOU", and salute all those great men and women.C001.jpg

[Marlin60]

Can't really add anything to this thread.
It's all been said.

Same. Thankful for all of those who gave all they had.

[GOYABEAN]

flag.gif RIP SIR

WWII soldier buried in Mount Carmel

Sgt. John Nolan died 80 years ago and was finally laid to rest in Northumberland County on Friday.


https://www.wnep.com/section/northumberland-county

[Excommunicated]

For all the bad it does, Facebook does occasionally do something good. There's a page that's dedicated to posting the bio and remembrances of Delco service members KIA in Vietnam on the anniversary of their passing.

[SevenMilePete]

A gentle request for the public this weekend, especially on Monday:

Please don't thank me for my service this weekend. This is not my time. The ones to be honored this weekend gave far more in service than I.

Out.

Yes! That is for Veterans Day. And also, please don't wish someone a Happy Memorial Day. It's like saying hope you have fun at your parents' funeral.

[MARINE DIVISION TWO]

Rest In Peace Great Uncle Bruno Rutkowski, Normandy France. D-Day. Never forgotten yours and your Fellow Patriots that succumbed that day fighting the NAZI Reich ! Always in our Prayers !

[bogey1]

flag.gif RIP SIR

*They thought he was never coming back*: Allentown WWII vet whose remains were recently identified set to be buried Saturday

U.S. Army Pvt. Earl E.R. Seibert of Allentown, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, has been accounted for some 80 years later.

In 1941, Earl Seibert of Allentown joined the 803rd Engineer Battalion.

He was eager to serve, and he was soon sent to the Philippines, where he would work to lengthen airfields for incoming planes and other aircraft.

Less than a year after he enlisted, Japanese forces invaded. Seibert, an Allentown High School graduate, and his battalion were captured and subjected to a 65-mile march, known today as the Bataan Death March.

He died on July 27, 1942, at the Cabanatuan POW Camp 1, where more than 2,500 POWs died during the war. He was 23 years old. His family was notified in August 1945 that Seibert had died of diptheria at the camp, according to Morning Call reporting.

It would be nearly 80 years, however, before Seibert*s family would find closure.

On Saturday, Seibert finally will be laid to rest in his hometown, with full military honors. His remains were identified late last year, thanks to ongoing efforts to recover and identify the remains of more than 80,000 missing U.S. servicemen and women.

A family*s tragedy

Seibert, who was a mechanic, grew up in Allentown and was the second oldest of 10 children. Like some of his family before him, Seibert wanted to serve in the military.

An injury from a bike accident, however, prevented him from being able to serve in a combat unit. When the 803rd Engineer Battalion was created, Seibert, who was qualified to join that unit, jumped at the opportunity. He and six of his friends, all from the area, joined up.

Any money he earned he had sent home to his family.

*It wasn*t just a sacrifice for our country,* said his niece, Ginny Lee Henry. *He did it for his family, too.*

Henry never knew her uncle, but she grew up close to some of her mother*s younger siblings, and to her grandparents, who spent many years contacting the military to try and get their son*s remains returned to them. Seibert*s mother contacted the military about it as late as the 1980s, roughly 40 years after his death.

Seibert*s parents knew he was missing and presumed dead; he was among U.S. and Filipino service members who had surrendered to the Japanese after months of fighting that began in December 1941, hours after the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor.

He was buried along with others in a common grave at the Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery. After the war, the American Graves Registration Service exhumed those buried in the common grave and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila. Only three personnel were able to immediately be identified.

Over the years, Seibert*s parents put out pleas to the public and the military to find out what happened to their son, and have him brought back to Allentown.

While the military was able to confirm that Seibert had died, the exact location of his remains were unknown until just last year.

Henry*s grandmother, before she died, gave her a gold star necklace with Seibert*s photo attached. Henry kept the search for Seibert going years later.

In 2017, she learned about The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), whose mission is to account for missing personnel in the country.

Not long after, Henry donated her blood to see if it could be used to identify Seibert later. Seibert*s youngest sibling, as well as a cousin, donated blood, too.

https://www.mcall.com/2024/05/23/the...ried-saturday/

A friends father was part of that death march.