The cremated remains of an Army Medal of Honor winner that had been in an unmarked crypt in San Diego since 1921 were delivered to the Miramar National Cemetery Wednesday in preparation for burial with full military honors Thursday.
Sgt. Charles Schroeter will become the first person with the military's highest award to be laid to rest at the newer of San Diego's military cemeteries. A brief ceremony was held when his remains arrived.
According to the Miramar National Cemetery Support Foundation, Schroeter, who was born in 1837 in Germany, came to the U.S. in 1860 and fought in numerous Civil War battles.
He earned his Medal of Honor several years later during fighting against Apache Indians in the Battle of Rocky Mesa on Oct. 20, 1869, in southeastern Arizona. His citation only states "gallantry in action."
Schroeter retired after three decades of military service, co-owned a candy and tobacco shop in Buffalo, New York, and came to San Diego in 1918, where he died three years later. He never married and had no survivors.
Research by the Congressional Medal of Honor Historical Society led to his remains at Greenwood Memorial Park in the Mount Hope section of San Diego, along with other unclaimed remains.
Cathy Fiorelli of the park said Schroeter's remains were in a communal crypt.
"We realized that was not really a proper burial befitting of a Civil War soldier who was also a Medal of Honor recipient," Fiorelli told Fox5 San Diego.
She said they contacted the Miramar foundation, which worked with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for 18 months to get the approvals needed for burial at the military cemetery.
