It is a bittersweet cause for celebration when the remains of American soldiers are found, identified, and returned home. Both sorrow and gratitude are felt – sorrow for the loss of life but gratitude for the opportunity to honor these soldiers by providing a final place to rest.

My recent trip to the Bath National Cemetery provided me with a poignant reminder that even though the passage of time may blur memory, every United States service person Missing in Action (MIA) should never be forgotten. The cemetery, located in the Finger Lakes region of New York, is the final resting place of many military veterans. A special section of 28 soldiers with a special story is located there. Discovered in an unmarked mass grave in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada in 1987, their remains were reinterred at Bath in 1988.

Unfortunately, MIA Service personnel are a part of every war our nation has fought. These 28 soldiers are from an early war the War of 1812. Often forgotten or misunderstood, the war was fought against Great Britain.

The British, at war with France, harassed American merchant ships at sea to block American trade with France. They also practiced “impressment” – taking naturalized American sailors from American ships to work on their ships (Britain felt they were deserters), blockaded the American coastline and ruled the Great Lakes with their armed ships from across the border in what is now Canada.

Both sides claimed victory at the end of the war. The United States had defended its status as an independent nation. For a not yet independent Canada, the war reinforced ties to Britain but started it on the path to nationhood.

This month seems a perfect time to tell the unique story of these 28 soldiers because it is the anniversary of the famous “Battle of Lake Erie” on September 10, 1813. Oliver Hazard Perry forced the British surrender of six British ships and wrote, “We have met the enemy and they are ours.”

Many land battles during this war were fought on the Niagara frontier region and it is here that these 28 men lost their lives and were buried in an unmarked grave that was rediscovered more than 170 years later.

“Home at Last,” a booklet published in 1988, gives a first-hand account of the intriguing saga of how these former MIA soldiers died, were accidentally discovered, and made it home in 1988.

Vincent Dunn of Fort Erie, Canada, a Canadian teacher was planning to build his home on waterfront property. Excavators found human bones. Dunn described how surveyors and military historians came and discovered more skeletons and artifacts such as buttons. He took a personal interest in the project because his brother, a Canadian Air Force fighter pilot, was an MIA over the North Sea whose remains were never found. He said he always wondered if his brother’s body was ever found and cared for by someone. He saw the remains as not just bones, but servicemen like his brother who died in a foreign place and deserved a proper burial in their homeland, unlike the British policy at the time of letting the bodies of the deceased float down the Niagara River.

Dunn said that finding an American button “was my saving grace, because Americans would care, they would want their people back.” He further shared, “I really felt a strong sense of responsibility toward those skeletons, but the real point is that these guys are finally getting their moment of glory. They are finally getting their due, being buried in a national cemetery with military honors.”

Tales told by dead men,” an article in the booklet, details how the remains of the soldiers were unearthed and identified. Buried in their uniforms (without coffins), it was the accompanying buttons that proved they were American. A total of 438 buttons were found, but without any other evidence, specific names were impossible to identify, so the remains were marked “unknown.” They had been buried in a traditional Christian fashion with their bodies lying east-west and hands crossed. Most were young from mid-teen to early 20s. The bones showed that these young men worked hard, few were taller than 5’6”, and some had died of infections or wounds. Scientists determined that they had suffered from malnutrition and their physical strength was at its limit at the time of their deaths. One soldier’s bones had a bluish tinge, so scientists concluded he may have been native to Sacketts Harbor, where drinking water was rich in fluorine. One soldier had both arms amputated, while another appeared to have a cannonball pass through him. Others had been victims to musket balls and grapeshot. One was headless, which could have been the result of either the battle or the later construction, before people realized the bones were human.

Burial of the 28 soldiers at Bath seemed right because many New Englanders opposed the war making these soldiers most likely from western New York. Historians, as described in the article, concluded that they had fought in the Niagara Campaign for months, including bloody Lundy’s Lane before the siege of Fort Erie. These soldiers most likely died at Snake Hill, which overlooked the fort, probably dying during a night battle on August 15 of 1814 when the British attempted to take the fort in hand-to-hand combat. The Americans buried their dead. The siege of Fort Erie continued until November 5, after which the fort was abandoned and the Americans crossed back over the Niagara River and left the dead behind in their makeshift and unmarked graves.

The families of these men may have never known their exact fate or place of burial. Their story was definitely lost as time marched on. Described as possibly the first MIAs in American history, these 28 men finally came home and can be remembered over 200 years later when anyone visits their final resting place in Bath.

One of the many groups that attended the reburial was the Empire State Grotto Association of Lily Dale.

Remember that the Dunkirk Historical Lighthouse shares in a rich history of the War of 1812, which is described on tours and also during paranormal ghost investigations. Time and again, investigators have identified the presence of a British soldier from this war, possibly wounded during a landing party on our shores. Call 366-5050 or visit their website for hours of tours.

Make it a good week and give thanks for those who serve. My special thanks for this week’s column go to my 92-year-old aunt, a veteran World War II who pointed out this section of the cemetery to me. and Jasper Edwards, director of the cemetery, who graciously provided a rare copy of the “Home at Last” booklet from 1988.