WHITE SALMON, Wash. (AP) — Nearly 68 years after he died in the Netherlands, the remains of an American World War II soldier have been laid to rest in Washington state.
The Oregonian newspaper reports (http://is.gd/h2E0Nd) that the bones and dog tags 23-year-old Gerald “Mike” Kight of White Salmon were discovered in a farmer’s field last fall. Three men were out with metal detectors, searching for evidence of the Allies’ failed Market Garden offensive, when they found the remains and alerted authorities.
U.S. Army officials were able to trace his family tree and track down the only living relative who ever had contact with him, his niece, Frances Hembree of Portland, Ore.
His ashes were buried Saturday with the remains of his mother, who always hoped he would be found.
