NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio — More than 70 years after the end of World War II, the remains of a soldier who died during the conflict will be buried in Tuscarawas County.
Dover native and Army Pvt. Emmet W. Schwartz's body was identified just earlier this year in July. Schwartz was just 24 years old when he was killed by an artillery blast on Dec. 27, 1944, near the town of Hürtgen, Germany.
Schwartz will be buried Monday, Nov. 22, in New Philadelphia. Linn-Hert-Geib will do the Graveside services for Schwartz following the burial.
Since the conclusion of the war, the American Graves Registration Command has been investigating and finding missing American bodies throughout Europe. After several inquiries from 1946-50, they could not identify or discover the remains of Schwartz, and in December of 1951, he was declared non-recoverable.
In 1946, a historian with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency found an unidentified set of remains that possibly belonged to Schwartz. The remains were buried in Rhône American Cemetery in Draguignan, France, but were disinterred in June 2019 before being sent to the DPAA laboratory located at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. The remains were examined and officially identified as the remains of Schwartz on July 9, 2021.
Experts identified Schwartz using the material, circumstantial evidence, and dental, anthropological, and mitochondrial DNA analysis. His name is on the Wall of Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, but a rose will be soon placed next to his name to show that he has been accounted for.
Those interested in learning more information about Pvt. Schwartz can visit DPAA.mil.