Originally Posted by O'Sullivan Bere

I'm only putting out an educated guess here, but tradition might have something to do with it.

Many services--then or now--have had the tradition to bury servicemen where they made their supreme sacrifice. Today's increased travel has made repatriation of remains an easier task plus accomodating such requests of any family wishes, but it's a pretty prevalent tradition.

For example, to cite a bit of trivia, if one goes to the North Carolina Outer Banks for a holiday, that area was known as 'Torpedo Junction' during WWII given very heavy U-boat action, especially in 1942 during the height of the Battle of the Atlantic.

On Ocracoke Island there are two gavesites called 'The British Cemetery' where the remains of British naval and merchant marine sailors lie in rest. The gravesites are controlled by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission by permanent lease so long as it remains a British cemetery, making it the only land apart from British Embassy land that is technically under British jurisdiction in the US. Off the coast lie all sorts of Allied ships and German U-boats. The remains of any servicemen on these vessels are technically considered war graves. Even the German government plays a role in assuring that divers do not disturb any remains that may be found.

This situation above has been true all over the US. Recovered remains were buried and cared for on shore and have respectfully remained so. Offshore remains are likewise treated as war graves and due respect given to any entombed there.

Going back further, there are plenty of Revolutionary War graves in my area (the Philadelphia area) and today the British ones are cared for just like the American ones (fenced, Union Jacks, mowed and minded, etc).

That may have been why the traditions started--in past years bodies rarely could be sent home. However, even today when they can be reinterred and their identities are known and marked on gravestones, they are left where they fell. For example, many of the British seamen who fell in WWII are known and marked, but yet here they remain.

Around the world, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cares for cemeteries of British Commonwealth casualties of British Commonwealth nations from numerous conflicts.

The US has gravesites in many nations too from past conflicts. The Normandy graveyard is but one example. The Germans have them too as do the Japanese, etc.

So, it seems a very common practice to leave remains where the servicemen fell and that the hosts care for them in conjuction with the nation that lost their servicemen. Lying with their fallen mates at the spot where they made their supreme sacrifice certainly has powerful resonance to recommend it even with today's technologies making repatriation of remains an easy task.