Unknown Belgian soldier from WWI receives reburial in De Panne
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On the eve of Armistice Day, a double memorial service was held on Monday in Diksmuide and De Panne for an unknown Belgian soldier who died during the First World War. The soldier's remains were discovered last year, on the banks of the Yser river during construction works. After a torchlight procession along the Yser and a ceremony, he was reburied with military honours at the Belgian military cemetery in De Panne.
The discovery of Belgian soldiers from the First World War is very rare. The last time was in 2016, with a reburial in 2018. For the time before that, we even have to go back to 1952. Human remains of soldiers who fell in the First World War are still regularly found in the Westhoek region, but these are mostly British, French or German.
On 23 September 2024, workers came across human remains while constructing a cycle path on the Yser dike in Diksmuide. The discovery was made just a few hundred metres from the Dodengang or “Death Corridor”, the historic trench complex that symbolises the Belgian front on the Yser. Research by the Flemish Immovable Heritage Agency and the War Heritage Institute quickly revealed that the remains were those of a Belgian soldier from the First World War.
The accompanying objects – including a uniform button with the Belgian lion and a rudimentary ring with the inscription 1915 and a post horn – confirmed his nationality, but anthropological and DNA tests were unable to establish his identity. The soldier is therefore officially reburied as “Unknown”.
On Monday afternoon, the soldier was laid to rest with military honours at the military cemetery in De Panne, the largest Belgian WWI cemetery, in the presence of a representative of King Philippe, representatives of the Ministry of Defence, the mayor of De Panne, the mayor of Diksmuide, and the public. Around 200 spectators attended the ceremony, which ended with a floral tribute.
The War Heritage Institute emphasises that this exceptional event underlines the importance of continuing remembrance education. “Remembrance is important. We must never forget this. We reflect on the sacrifices, but also on the misery that the war brought,” stated Steve Maertens of the War Heritage Institute.
#FlandersNewsService | Military cemetery at Ploegsteert © PHOTO ARTERRA + Ceremony for an unknown Belgian soldier from the First World War who was reburied in De Panne © BELGA VIDEO MAARTEN WEYNANTS
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