YAKIMA, Wash.-The body of a soldier from Yakima killed in action in World War II is returning home.
Army Capt. Donald Froemke was buried as an unknown soldier in a U.S. military cemetery in Belgium after being killed on October 5, 1944 during Operation Market Garden in The Netherlands.
According to a press release from the Yakima Training Center the Army transferred remains misidentified as Capt. Froemke’s to Yakima for burial in 1949 to fulfill the wishes of his family.
In 1951 the American Graves Registration Command, processed a different set of remains recovered in The Netherlands that included an identification bracelet for Capt. Froemke, but a positive identification could not be made, and Froemke was buried as an unknown soldier.
Froemke’s remains were identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in 2022.
Froemke graduated from Yakima High School and the State College of Washington before joining the Army on March 6, 1941, and was later appointed to Officer Candidate School.
According to the Yakima Training Center Capt. Froemke was part of the team that surveyed the current training center. After completing engineers training, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army.
Capt. Froemke will be buried next to his parents in Yakima and a graveside service is scheduled for 11 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 9, at Tahoma Cemetery.
“It’s a beautiful place under a tree, which I think he would have loved since he worked for the Forest Service before he joined the Army,” said Ellen Holloway, Froemke’s niece.
A public visitation is also scheduled for noon-6 p.m., Sept. 7-8, at Brookside Funeral Home, 500 Mountain View Ave., Ellensburg.
The graveside service is private, but the service in Ellensburg is open to the public for anyone who wishes to pay their respects to Capt. Froemke.
“This is a great opportunity to recognize Capt. Froemke for his important role in the history of Yakima Training Center and show his family our thanks for the sacrifice he made to our Nation,” said Army Lt. Col. Tim Horn, Commander of the Yakima Training Center Army Garrison.
