Decades later, forgotten Medal of Honor recipient gets military graveside honors

A 1906 Medal of Honor recipient is finally receiving full military honors Friday at a cemetery in Washington state decades after he was buried without fanfare.

Emil Fredreksen was one of 11 men awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions aboard the gunboat USS Bennington in San Diego in 1905. But after his death in 1950, he was buried quietly at Seattle’s Evergreen Washelli Cemetery with no headstone.

Friday’s public ceremony at 2 p.m. local time addresses that oversight, a fitting remembrance for a forgotten American hero. It is taking place on National Medal of Honor Day, celebrated every March 25 to honor the recipients of America’s highest award for military valor.

“It’s very emotional for me,” cemetery manager Brenda Spicer told KIRO-FM. “To know his story and the wonderful things he’s done and to know that he’s going to be honored and his memory cared for forever, it’s definitely emotional.”

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Image courtesy of Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park