Decorated US war veteran's body flies home for reburial 58 yrs after death in Darjeeling

KOLKATA: The last remains of one of America's most decorated officers, Major General Harry Kleinbeck Pickett, who fought in both World War I and II, was flown home to the US on Monday for reburial at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia from the previous resting place at Singtom cemetery on Lebong Cart Road in Darjeeling.
Pickett had died suddenly of heart failure on March 19, 1965, in Darjeeling, India, while on a round-the-world trip and had been buried in the cemetery that houses the graves of many Englishmen, including the discoverer of Darjeeling, Lt Gen George W Aylmer Lloyd, and Hungarian linguist Alexander Csoma de Koros.
The decorated officer's body was exhumed in March after the American Citizens Services unit of the US consulate general Kolkata got the necessary approvals from the West Bengal government's home & hill affairs department. "We issued the no-objection certificate that was required for exhumation and another for the repatriation of the remains," department special secretary B P Gopalika told TOI.
Earlier, protracted negotiations between the US embassy and the ministry of external affairs had led to the clearance from the government of India.
"This week, more than 50 years after his passing, decorated World War I and II veteran Major General Harry Kleinbeck Pickett returned home to his family in the United States, for re-burial at Arlington National Cemetery. This was only possible because dedicated partners in West Bengal and Darjeeling extended their care and support. Thank you for reuniting Major General Pickett with his loved ones, and for strengthening the bonds of friendship that bind Americans and Indians together," tweeted US ambassador Eric Garcetti.
'Grateful to central, state govts for sending remains back to US'
Major General Pickett was commissioned into the United States Marine Corps in 1913 and went on to become one of the few Americans who served with distinction in both world wars.
During World War I, he participated in the capture of the German cruiser SMS Cormoran in Guam in April 1917.
Twenty-four years later, as the Commanding Officer of the Marine Barracks at Pearl Harbor, he and his fellow Marines fired on Japanese warplanes during the surprise attack on December 7, 1941.
The officer is most noted for leading the unit that trained both Marine and Army amphibious units in the Pacific Theatre during World War II.
An extensive search by American Citizens Services (ACS) with the help of Darjeeling DM S Ponnambalam and John Pinto International Funeral Services had located Pickett's grave at Singtom cemetery.
The US government thanked Rev Fr Patrick Pradhan of the Darjeeling cemetery and Father Paul D'Souza, who helped in the exhumation process. "Helping reunite Major General Pickett with his beloved family in the United States, the country he defended in both World War I and II, is a privilege and honour for us. My team and I are grateful for the support we received from the government of India and state of West Bengal which made his return possible," said US consul general in Kolkata Melinda Pavek.