US to repatriate unidentified soldiers from graveyard in Africa

(Trends Wide)– The United States is preparing to bring home and identify the remains of unknown World War II soldiers from the only American cemetery in Africa, the US Embassy in Tunis announced Monday, Memorial Day.

The announcement comes after the US and Tunisia signed a memorandum of understanding that will allow the US to exhume the remains of unknown soldiers from the North African American Cemetery and repatriate them for identification and reunification with their families.

“We owe a deep debt of gratitude to our fallen heroes and their families,” said embassy diplomat Natasha Franceschi. “Today’s historic agreement will ensure that the American service men and women who gave their lives to defend our freedom are recognized and honored for the ultimate sacrifice they gave our country.”

The Carthage Cemetery in Tunisia, near the Mediterranean Sea, is the burial place of 2,841 US Army personnel from the North African campaign.

The Wall of the Missing, a memorial wall that borders the cemetery, lists the names of 3,724 service members who were missing in action and have never been found.

It is unclear how many remains will be returned to the United States.

Attendees stand during the Memorial Day ceremony at the African North American Cemetery. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tunisia, Othman Jerendei (front row, left), with the diplomat of the United States Embassy in Tunisia, Natasha Franceschi.

The taking of Tunisia by the Allies was to become a base for the invasion of Europe during World War II. Despite early successes by German and Italian forces, the Axis powers lost control of Tunisia to better-supplied Allied forces. In the summer of 1943, the Allies had taken Tunisia, expelling what remained of the Axis forces.

In 1960, the North African American Cemetery was founded for members of the military who perished in the campaign, but the United States was never able to exhume and attempt to identify the remains of the unknown soldiers.

The newly signed memorandum of understanding will finally allow the United States to begin the often difficult process of exhuming the remains and identifying them. The embassy has not said when it will start.

The African North American Cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia. An American and a Tunisian flag next to each headstone.

“The example of our fallen warriors”

An official from the Defense Accountability Agency for Prisoners of War and Missing in Action also attended the signing ceremony. The mission of this agency is to recover US military personnel and identify them through a combination of forensic scientific technology and military records.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin emphasized the deep and unwavering commitment to honoring the sacrifice of service members in a speech delivered at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day.

“In choosing between what is easy and what is right, let us live by the example of our fallen warriors,” Austin said. “And when the values ​​we hold dear are put to the test, let us live by the ideals they gave their lives to uphold.”