American Military: In her 97 years, Bertha Dupre served in World War II, rode the rails for Amtrak and, in her 80s, became a full-time student at UNC Charlotte.
But she died alone in December, with no family left to claim her body. That gnawed at a growing number of volunteers she never knew in life but who will take her to a final rest.
“The more we learned about Ms. Dupre, we put our minds together and said we’re going to make this special. We would give her the burial she deserves,” said Russ Roakes, a funeral director at Powles Staton Funeral Home in the Rowan County town of Rockwell.
Word of Dupre’s passing at a Concord nursing home came from a Cabarrus County veteran services officer. She asked whether Powles Staton, which specializes in services for veterans, could help. Roakes and his colleague in a family-owned business, Andrea Lefko of Carolina Cremation in Salisbury, went to work.
Dupre raised a stepson, but he couldn’t be located at her death, they learned. Neither could a sister who was also in her 90s. more here
RIP Bertha Dupre! A life lived well.
Wow, what a story. What a life. RIP Bertha.
There are a lot of these stories lately. Its sad as the remaining WWII heros are disappearing and the youngsters nowadays don’t appreciate what they did that gives the freedoms they stomp all over today. Though many of the African American service men and women were given the crap jobs they did them. Such as grave registrations, menial supply jobs where they were more often than not abused by their white officers. When given combat duties they were as good and often superior to their Anglo counterparts. When captured they were treated as inferior and abused by the enemy also. Hollywood was also abusive to them. The movie Red Ball Express, the stars were the white men. In reality it was the African Americans who made that work. Great Americans who deserve the recognition they weren’t given.
Lovely story.
* Hand salute *
I never knew of black WAC division.
Salute Ma’am.
Salute.
Wow!