Chapter Seventeen
Life With Honor
Tuesday, 6 August 1991
The scene was somber yet beautiful. Gentle puffs of clouds hung in the blue sky, and the rays of the sun beamed down to warm the crowd. It was uncharacteristically calm as the customary wind from the lake took the day off, and only a slight breeze kept the flags gently flying. A huge crowd had come, and hundreds of people, both military and curious civilians, stood behind the wrought iron fence while every MP on Fort Sheridan stood on station for crowd control.
What had once been a rarely visited setting for nine German POW graves was about to have new occupants. Bauer’s unearthed gravesite, with the dirt neatly piled and covered beside the grave, had a temporary wooden cover that kept anything from falling into the open grave. In addition, two more graves had been dug to the right of Bauer’s. Both had coffin-lowering devices positioned over them and a green tarp around the graves. To the right were five rows of folding chairs ready to accept the fifty invited people. The last three rows were full of guests representing the post and the city, including Arthur and Ms. Sharp. The front two rows awaited the arrival of family and close friends.
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