When The Boys Came Home: The Final Chapter of World War II

By John F. Schlatter

The remains of more than 170,000 American servicemen who died in World War Two were returned to the States for burial between 1947 and 1950, continuing a uniquely American tradition dating to the Mexican War. In 1948, funerals for the WWII fallen were held nationwide at the rate of 275 per day. This somber program rivaled D-Day in size and scope and sparked a national debate over whether to bring the boys home or leave them where they fell. This book examines the "Return of the Dead," as it was known, with a focus on those who died and how a grateful nation honored their sacrifice with ceremonies from coast to coast. These services ran the gamut from huge gatherings in big cities to quiet observances in small towns where all activity shut down to honor local heroes: · In Buffalo, New York, a grateful Army Captain knelt and said a prayer at the bier of the Medal of Honor recipient who died to save his life. · In San Francisco, a huge crowd stood silently, Gold Star mothers wept, and a bugler played Taps as the first ship carrying remains from the Pacific steamed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. · In New York City when the first remains arrived from Europe the city stopped for a silent procession down Fifth Avenue followed by a gathering of 150,000 people in Central Park. · In rural Missouri, a grieving, widowed farmer placed the caskets of his three fallen sons in the room where they were born and sat quietly while neighbors came to call. · In a small Utah town, throngs of locals were joined by national dignitaries for the funeral of the four Borgstrom brothers who died within six months of each other in 1944. Reminiscent of the movie Saving Private Ryan , a fifth brother was discharged after their deaths. · In the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, 1,500 gathered to honor Lieutenant Frances Y. Slanger, the "Nightingale of Normandy" who was the first Army nurse to die in Europe. This glimpse into a sometimes forgotten post-script to World War Two reminds us of the price America paid for freedom.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0D63LP7Z8
• ISBN13: 9798327387560
• Release Date: June 2024
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 181 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.6" x 6.0"