There are many ways to honor those who gave their lives for this country. One way is to find their remains and bring them home—even if it takes nearly 90 years.
That’s what’s happened in the case of Francis Lupo, an American doughboy who was killed in France in July of 1918. He was a 23-year-old private in the Army’s famed 1 st Infantry Division. He died in the division’s attack on German forces near the town of Soissons in the Second Battle of the Marne. His remains were lost until being discovered by a French archeologist in 2003.
Now the remains of Private Lupo of Cincinnati, Ohio, have been identified by scientists working through the Pentagon and a DNA identification laboratory. It’s the first known case in which the remains of a soldier from World War I had been found since the special military unit set up for tracing the dead was established in the 1960 s.
Private Lupo had not been forgotten. His name was listed among the missing on a monument not far from where he was killed. After all these years, his remains will be buried at Arlington Cemetery, where they will rest in the company of so many others who served their country in war.
Welcome home, Private. We honor your service and sacrifice. Always. You have not been forgotten.
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