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Doughboy MIA Works to Commemorate US Soldiers Lost in WWI

Martin Dowman
/
Flickr
National WWI War Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri.

For most of us in the US, Memorial Day Weekend marks the unofficial beginning of summer, but the holiday itself is one of solemnity. 

Shortly after the end of the American Civil War, a day in May was designated as Decoration Day: a day to honor and remember those who died in service to our country. After the first World War, the holiday has been known as Memorial Day. 

Although nearly a century has passed since the end of World War I, there are still some people who died in battle who haven't been identified. Waterford resident, Robert Laplander, is hoping to change that.

"They lost their lives in the service of their country," he says. "I know it's fashionable to say, 'They gave their life for freedom.' When you really break it down, they lost their life in the service of their country and the least we can do is try to give them a named grave." 

Laplander served in the Marine Corps but not, as he points out, during war time. Since the early 2000s, he’s been actively working to properly identify and commemorate US soldiers still missing in action from the first world war. His all volunteer organization is called Doughboy MIA

More than 116,000 members of the military were lost during the Great War. When it came time to identify their bodies, Laplander says they largely relied on paper forms and "shoe boxes full of index cards." Although nearly 100 years have passed, modern technology has made it easier to find some of these missing soldiers. 

"What we have available to us now, though, as far as technology goes, is so far above what they had," he explains. "We have deep penetration metal detectors, ground penetrating radar, spacial imaging; we can do things they couldn't do." 

Bonnie North
Bonnie joined WUWM in March 2006 as the Arts Producer of the locally produced weekday magazine program Lake Effect.