Welcome Home Francis Lupo, Welcome Home

By Tom Paone

An American soldier has finally returned home. Not from the sands of Iraq or Afghanistan. Not from the jungles of Vietnam. Not from the beaches of Normandy. Private Francis Lupo, of Cincinnati, Ohio, has returned from the fields of France. After 90 years, Francis Lupo, one of the first soldiers from the First World War to be excavated, identified, and returned in decades, has finally received a proper burial.

Lupo has become one of the longest missing soldiers to be identified after being killed in battle on July 21, 1918. In 2003, archaeologists looking for ancient burials discovered the body of Francis Lupo in a shallow grave along with the remains of a still unidentified soldier. A piece of wallet was found with the bodies, with the name Francis Lupo embossed on it. This allowed the remains to be identified by comparing DNA with the only known living relative of Lupo, a niece named Rachel Kleisinger. She was born 15 years after his death, and only remembers Francis from a photo she saw as a child.

In 2004, members of the to the Defense Department’s Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command in Hawaii received Lupo’s remains and began the process to positively identify them, as well as to find a living relative. It was the first time the command had worked on a soldier from the First World War. Along with the most modern technology, the command was able to positively identify the remains, and pave the way for a proper burial.

Rachel Kleisinger, now 73, was the only family member alive to see Lupo’s funeral, held at Arlington National Cemetery. No parades were held. No veterans from “The Great War” stood at attention. He still, however, was given the full military honors that he deserved, including, ” . . .a horse-drawn caisson, a bugler, [and] rifle volleys.” Francis Lupo is finally home. It took 90 years, but he has finally received the rest he earned. He received the funeral that all fallen soldiers deserve. He no longer lies unnamed in a field in France. He now lies in a place of honor. Thank you, Francis, and welcome home.