![]() Once the conflict was over, plans were made for reinterring the dead to permanent cemeteries in Europe or returning them to the United States. This in no way meant that each person was identified, many thousands in both world wars are still unknown. This system relied on help from the combat units in identifying the men and burying them. World War I provided the first incentive for a more organized system for identifying and interring men killed in action. The recently re-organized Graves Registration Service placed an emphasis on quickly identifying bodies and burying them in temporary graves. Metal disks greatly increased the chances of identifying a body. Though this method was better than nothing, it was far from ideal when an identification needed to be made. In previous conflicts, soldiers were known to write their names and information on pieces of paper or wood and attach them to their uniforms. The biggest development in assisting in identification was made in 1913 when the US Army made mandatory for all service members the wearing of metal identification disks, later known as dog tags. During peacetime there was very little drive or money to advance this department. The need for burying large numbers of men killed in the service of their country was largely a reactionary need-only in times of war. It offered no infrastructure or process for collecting those dead, leaving many to lie in the field where they fell for weeks, months, or years. Despite sounding like a real beginning, the efforts during the Civil War only dictated that soldiers should be laid to rest in dedicated cemeteries. One of the most famous speeches in American history, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln, was at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. In an ironic twist, as modern warfare advanced the death tolls of war to unheard levels, there began to be an emphasis on identifying and properly burying the dead. Although the concept of a “decent burial” is certainty not a modern construct, the realities of war and the limitations of science and travel made quick burial on or near the battlefield a necessity.įor the United States it was not until the Civil War (1861-1865) that a dedicated effort was made to properly bury those who were killed in service of their country. Proper identification and burial were reserved for nobles and leaders. For most of human history the dead were left where they fell, buried in mass graves or consumed in funeral pyres. Dealing with soldiers killed on the field of battle is as old as battle itself.
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