Echo9er

Echo9er Blog is very happy to to post this “Good News!” story.

“If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go.

Be not ashamed to say you love them, though you may or may not have always.

Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own.

And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind.”

– Major Michael O’Donnell, January 1, 1970, Dak To, Vietnam
MAJ O’Donnell was a helicopter pilot that went missing in action on March 24, 1970 during a rescue attempt. His remains were returned in 1995 and identified in 2001.

A first for the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), an unaccounted for soldier from World War I, Army Pvt. Francis Lupo of Cincinnati, Ohio was identified and returned to his family. He will be buried on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2006, at Arlington National Cemetery.

Private Lupo was part of a combined French-American attack, in what was known as the Second Battle of the Marne, on the Germans near Soissons, France. He was killed in action during the battle, but his remains were never recovered.

This battle has been regarded as a turning point in the war, despite heavy Allied casualties. The battle halted and reversed the German advance to Paris.

Despite heavy Allied losses, this battle has been regarded as a turning point in the war, halting and reversing the final German advances toward Paris.

Welcome Home, Private Lupo. The journey has been long and hard. Rest in peace. May God bless you and your family with his comfort and joy.

Following is the DoD Release.

September 22, 2006
DoD Release # 942-06

First Identification of U.S. Soldier Missing in Action from World War I

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War I, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

This is the first time the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) has identified a soldier unaccounted for from World War I.

He is Army Pvt. Francis Lupo of Cincinnati, Ohio. He will be buried on Tuesday,
Sept. 26, 2006, at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.

Representatives from the Army met with Lupo’s next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.

In 1918, Lupo participated in the combined French-American attack on the Germans near Soissons, France, in what came to be known as the Second Battle of the Marne. Despite heavy Allied losses, this battle has been regarded as a turning point in the war, halting and reversing the final German advances toward Paris.

Lupo, a member of Company E, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, was killed in action during the battle, but his remains were never recovered.

In 2003, while conducting a survey in preparation for a construction project, a French archaeological team discovered human remains and other items a short distance from Soissons. Among the items recovered were a military boot fragment and a wallet bearing Lupo’s name. The items were given by the French to U.S. officials for analysis.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of Lupo’s remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO website at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

UPDATE: ABC News has a wonderful video of the Funeral Service at Arlington, today. Very well done. The title of the video is “Francis Lupo is laid to rest with military honors 88 years after being killed.” You can get to it via ABC News.
NBC News broadcast “WWI Veteran finally returns home”as well.