A century ago ...

Situated in a large family plot surrounded with new grass blades fighting for dominance with the old ones rests a white military headstone, slightly marred by a century of exposure to the elements, in Hope Lutheran Cemetery south of Minneota.
While it's not uncommon to see numerous military markers and headstones in a cemetery, this particular one has historical significance.
George Walter Gillund, a private in the U.S. Army, was killed in action in World War I on Aug. 4, 1918 in France at age 29. According to military records obtained by the Mascot, Gillund and several other soldiers in his unit were shot and killed by an enemy ambush. Gillund's family received the Purple Heart in George's honor.
Gillund, and many of the other American soldiers that were returned to the United States, were buried in Aisne-Marne, at the time a World War I makeshift cemetery for American soldiers 50 miles outside Paris.
Three years later, a ceremony in Hoboken, New Jersey was held on May 23, 1921, two and one-half years after the end of the fighting in Europe. A total of 5,112 American soldiers, sailors, mariners and nurses were exhumed their burial site in France and brought back to the United States for their final resting place. President Warren G. Harding was among those in attendance and spoke of the importance that these brave men be returned home.
Gillund's body was among the seemingly endless rows of coffins that stretched out for city blocks. President Harding arrived on the presidential yacht, the USS Mayflower. While onboard, he composed a short address that reflected the sadness and shock of seeing so many caskets laid out in one place.
President Harding was also the Chief Executive who dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in 1921. This May also represents the centennial year of that dedication.
Gillund was assigned to the 4th Division, which was formed at Camp Greene, North Carolina on Dec. 10, 1917 for service in World War I. The 4th Infantry Division went into action in the Aisne-Marne campaign in July, at which time its units were attached to several French infantry divisions.
During the next four months, the 4th Infantry Division saw action on the front lines and as reserves. Suffering over 11,500 casualties in the final drive for the Allied victory, the 4th Infantry Division was the only division to serve in both the French and British sectors on the front.
By the end of WWI, 2,611 4th Infantry Division soldiers were killed in action and 9,895 others were wounded.
George Gillund was the fifth of 10 children (eight boys and two girls) born to John and Dorothea Gillund. The parents and all but one of the siblings are buried together in the Hope Lutheran Cemetery. George's brother, Ditluf, also has a military stone marker as a private in World War I. He died following an illness at age 28 in North Carolina and was brought to Minneota for burial.
The Gillund plot consists of the parents who died two months apart in 1941, and siblings Albert (1880-1956), Martin (1882-1960), Henry (1885-1966), Charles (1887-1958), George (1889-1918), Ditluf (1895-1923), Andrew (1897-1979), Mabel (1900-1901), and Arthur (1902-1978).
The lone sibling not among those buried in the family plot is Emma (Gillund) Bjornson (1893-1983), who married and died in North Dakota. She was the last of her family to pass away.
One of the questions historians still ask is why the decision to bring some of the deceased Americans home and not all of them. Nearly 75,000 Americans were buried in temporary or makeshift graves in France. One reason was the cost to recover bodies was enormous. The French leaders also were against the constant rumbling of trains carrying disinterred remains through the countryside for shipment back to the United States.
A ban was then placed on the repatriation of any bodies for three years beginning in January of 1919. But the French relented due to increased pressure from Harding and the U.S. military as many families demanded their loved one's remains be brought back home for fear they would be forgotten in unmarked graves.
The U.S. government then sent letters to families of the fallen veterans to inquire whether or not the remains of their loved ones be brought back. In all, approximately 40,000 bodies were returned and 30,000 were left behind, buried almost exclusively in American cemeteries.
Gillund's parents were among those requesting the return of their son. George was the second family member buried in Hope Lutheran Cemetery. His sister Mabel passed away at the age of seven months in 1901.