Ashes of WWII vet, wife get proper burial after being found in trash

Sixty-five years after Delbert E. Hahn laid his life on the line near the small French town of Caumont, ducking German machine gun fire and artillery, the former Iowa farmer whose cremated remains were found in a Tampa trash heap last month was laid to rest today in a hallowed place.

The remains of Hahn, dead 26 years, and his wife, who died six years ago, were placed in a niche at the Florida National Cemetery with a full military send-off. None of the 50 or so attendees, including more than 20 of the cemetery's grounds crew, knew Hahn in life. Only in death.

For Leo Dougherty, a 61-year-old Navy veteran from Brooksville, today was his first time at the cemetery. Given the circumstances of Hahn's story, he wanted to be here to pay his respect to a fallen comrade.

"It's just the right thing to do," he said. "This man came from a generation that did great things. It's just ashes and dust, but he was a part of history. We should not let this go by unnoticed."

Last month, Mike Colt, a 20-year-old National Guardsman, and his girlfriend, Carol Stargell, 18, were looking for fishing tackle in a trash heap off Busch Boulevard and found the funeral urns containing the ashes of Delbert and Barbara Hahn and a third urn containing remains believed to be Barbara's mother. With Delbert's urn were documents of his valor on the battlefield, sitting amid the detritus of a use-it-up, throw-it-away society.

Colt and Stargell attended the service today.

"We just felt that we should be here," said Colt, dressed in his military attire. What happened to Hahn, he said, "is pretty disturbing."

He and Stargell recounted how they came across the ashes, how they turned them in and how the urns ended up in Bushnell.

"We did something good," said Stargell, dressed in an ankle length black dress.

In the critical World War II assaults in the weeks after the Normandy invasion, Delbert Hahn received the Bronze Star for valor on the field of battle.

He survived the war, later earning two Purple Hearts, and completed 20 years of service that included tours of duty in Okinawa and Korea before retiring as a staff sergeant in 1967, records show. He died Dec. 4, 1983 in Zephyrhills.

In the years that followed his death, Hahn's wife probably kept his cremated remains on the mantel or a dresser or some other place of respect in the home. She kept his medals and recognitions of valor until she died 20 years later. Then, with no survivors to care for the remains, what became of Hahn's ashes was unclear.

His path ultimately led to his current resting place, amid the rolling hills and pristine glens of Florida National Cemetery in Sumter County. Some may wince when hearing where Hahn wound up on his posthumous journey; at what happened to the remains of the highly decorated and wounded war veteran.

His military career began in August 1942, when, military records show, the 21-year-old farmer from New Albin, Iowa, enlisted. He became a rifleman in the 3rd Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division and was in Europe from March 1944 to October 1945.

Hahn was at the Normandy invasion and campaigns in northern France, the Rhineland and Central Europe, records show, and he earned his Bronze Star for heroic achievement in the battles near Caumont on June 28, 1944.

In that campaign, the village was captured by U.S. troops July 1, 1944, less than a month after D-Day. The town was used as a starting point for Operation Bluecoat, which sought to push the occupying German army south toward Vire. The objective was to attract a counterattack, which would weaken the German line. The operation was a success, records show. It was during this engagement that Hahn earned his Bronze Star. Specifics about his actions were unavailable.

He was wounded in September 1944 and again in April 1945, records show.

He was discharged in October 1945, but re-enlisted four years later and restarted a military career that lasted until 1967. During that time, he served in Japan, Korea and again in Germany. He lived out his life in Zephyrhills with Barbara until his death. She died six years ago and willed her home to friends. The new owners weren't able to move all of the Hahns' possessions before losing ownership last year, and the urns were among the items left behind.

The urns were turned over to Tampa police Cpl. Edward Croissant and Officer Dan College, who escorted the remains to Bushnell from a Tampa funeral home this morning. The officers were among those who attended this afternoon's short funeral with full military honors. There are no known relatives of the Hahns.

Both College and Croissant are U.S. Coast Guard active reserve and said the circumstances surrounding Hahn's case are shameful.

"The guy is a true American hero," Croissant said. That his remains ended up in a trash heap "is absolutely disgraceful."

Now, "he's in a place of honor where he should be," he said.

Delbert and Barbara Hahn both are eligible for burial at the cemetery, which has become the final resting place for nearly 100,000 veterans since it opened 21 years ago.

"A lot of veterans from the greatest generation are passing away," College said. "This is a good reminder of what those people sacrificed for us."