'Gratitude': Formerly -Unknown Soldier Laid To Rest On Long Island

CALVERTON, NY — A formerly unknown soldier was laid to rest on Long Island Tuesday.

After more than 76 years of being classified as missing in action, the remains of U.S. Army Sergeant Bernard J. Sweeney, Jr., 22, were laid to rest in Calverton National Cemetery.

The funeral service, with full military honors, was provided by the Alexander-Rothwell Funeral Home.

Sgt. Sweeney’s relatives have passed away leaving no immediate family or next of kin, the funeral home said.

This formerly unknown soldier, "for so long only known to God, will finally receive the funeral he earned on October 10," the funeral home said. "This funeral will be of the highest honors, a service of gratitude, prestige and prayers of thanks to a soldier who gave his life so that others may live," said Kenneth T. Rothwell, the owner of The Alexander-Rothwell Funeral Home in Wading River.

A horse-drawn caisson carried the hero's remains from the funeral home to Calverton National Cemetery.

The Warrior Ranch Foundation provided its quarter horse, Cody, to serve as the riderless horse in the tribute to a fallen hero.

A fly over by the Army followed by a fly over from the Suffolk County Police Department's aviation unit were part of the ceremony.

Suffolk County fire departments created a "cannon of heroes," by draping flags across Route 25.

Sgt. Bernard J. Sweeney, Jr., entered the military in New York City, New York, on November 27, 1942 and served in Company I, 330th Infantry Regiment, 83d Infantry Division, in the European Theater during the Second World War.

He was reported missing as of December 16, 1944, after fighting near Strass, Germany, the funeral home said.

His remains were not recovered or identified following the war. The location of loss is associated with the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. His remains were never reported as being recovered and identified.

In April, 1950, officials interred unidentified remains numbered as X-2752 in Ardennes American Cemetery, a World War II American military cemetery, located in Neuville, Belgium.

The remains were recovered from a minefield north of Kleinhau, Germany. Following multidisciplinary analysis, DPAA officials recommended disinterring X-2752 from Neuville for scientific testing and identification, the funeral home said.

The Department of Defense and American Battle Monuments Commission exhumed the remains in April 2019 and transferred them to the DPAA laboratory in the United States where they were designated as CIL 2019-174. Based upon the recovery location of X-2752 and comprehensive historical research of combat and recoveries in the Hürtgen Forest, the DPAA concluded that an association between Sgt. Sweeney and the remains was historically likely.

The laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available recently established the remains as those of Sgt. Sweeney.

Fellow veterans, fire departments, police departments, federal, state and local government officials, along with community members, lined the streets to pay their respects to this fallen soldier.

All funeral costs were donated by the Rothwell family. Additional donations were made by the Riverhead VFW, Riverhead Elks Lodge and Riverhead Rotary to help pay the cost of the horse-drawn cassion, which traveled a far distance to provide services.