Remains of Vermont World War II soldier to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — The remains of a Vermont World War II soldier who died as a prisoner of war in the Philippines in 1942 are being laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

Army Pfc. Arthur Barrett, of Swanton, was a member of the 31st Infantry Regiment when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1941, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Barrett was among thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members captured and held at prisoner of war camps. More than 2,500 died at Cabanatuan camp during the war, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Barrett, 27, died on July 19, 1942, and was buried alongside other prisoners in a common grave. The American Graves Registration Service exhumed the remains after the war and were able to identify 12 sets, the agency said. The unidentified remains were then buried at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial as unknowns, it said.

The remains were exhumed again in 2018 and sent to an agency lab in Hawaii for DNA and other analysis. The agency announced in July of last year that Barrett’s remains had been identified.

The burial was happening Wednesday afternoon.

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