"The interments of World War I and World War II remains at overseas American military cemeteries are [now] permanent. It is no longer possible to repatriate the remains of those interred at these American military cemeteries. The program of final disposition of these remains was carried out by the American Graves Registration Service, Quartermaster General of the War Department under the provisions of Public Law 389, 66th Congress, and Public Law 368, 80th Congress. It entitled the next of kin authorized to make disposition of the remains to select one of the following alternatives:
* Permanent interment in an American military cemetery on foreign soil specifically designed, constructed, and maintained in perpetuity as a memorial to American war dead.
* Repatriation of the remains to U.S. soil for interment in a national cemetery.
* Repatriation of the remains to the individual's homeland or that of their next of kin for interment in a private cemetery.
A provision of the law terminated authority to make further disposition of remains on December 31, 1951, when the decision of the next of kin became final. The program of final disposition of war dead established the moral and legal obligation of the United States government to honor the expressed wishes of the next of kin authorized to make the decision regarding the permanent interment of their loved one's remains."
See this web page for a variety of sources of information about the repatriation of the remains of World War II war dead:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/history/marshall/military/mil_hist_inst/b/burial3.asc.
Good luck.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com
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