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Monument honors metro Detroit World War II soldier missing since D-Day

Posted at 7:26 PM, May 29, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-29 19:26:32-04

A World War II soldier who has been accounted for since the D-Day invasion at Normandy has been honored with a cenotaph at Ferndale's Beth Abraham cemetery.

The headstone for Lewis Ring was unveiled on Memorial Day, almost 73 years to the day that the 21-year-old disappeared amid the landings. 

Ring's landing craft blew up on D-Day and his remains were never found.

His mother received a telegram saying he was Missing in Action and she held out hope that he would be located. Because of that, the Kaddish - a Jewish prayer for the dead - was never said in Ring's honor.

As only one of Ring's siblings is still alive, the family decided to put a headstone in place at the cemetery where many members of his family are buried. It was organized by a niece.

According to the the Department of Defense's Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Ring is one of an estimated 73,000 Americans who remain unaccounted for from World War II.