BOIS-GRENIER, France (AP) — Eleven British casualties of World War I who got a name and family history through cutting-edge DNA research have been officially reburied with some of their descendants in attendance.
Wednesday’s solemn ceremony highlighted how current-day identification technology can make a difference for families who never knew what happened to their ancestors.
The soldiers were killed by the Germans in northern France 100 years ago this month. Their remains were found in a field there five years ago.
Walter Oxer was at the ceremony and said his father always had questions about the fate of his grandfather, Pvt. Ernest Oxer.
Oxer said that his father “always wondered where his father was and he knew nothing about it. He was just an unknown soldier,” adding the belated discovery was “unbelievable.”
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