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FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2001

Fifty years ago, a private cemetery in Sioux City, Iowa, refused to bury a Korean War casualty because he was Winnebago. This week, the tribe and family of Army Sgt. John R. Rice remembered him in a special ceremony.

Evelyn Rice, 79, attended the Tuesday ceremony that honored her husband. About 100 others participated in a procession in downtown Sioux City.

The refusal to bury Rice occurred at his funeral in 1951. When the cemetery found out he wasn't white, they wouldn't lower his casket.

President Truman learned of the ordeal and offered to bury Rice at Arlington National Cemetery. Evelyn accepted the offer.

Get the Story:
Ceremony Seeks to Put 50-Year Wrong to Rest (The Omaha World-Herald 8/29)