Relatives identify remains of fallen soldiers in Tehumardi by school badge
Identifying the human remains placed in cardboard coffins at Tehumardi was impossible following previous reinterments, however a school graduation badge recovered during excavation provided more clarity about the fates of at least two men.
"In total, there were the remains of 189 fallen," said Arnold Unt, an archaeologist at the Estonian War Museum. "But a school graduation badge belonging to one individual was found, pointing to reburial from another grave. And of those buried there with him, half were known by name."
Tuesday's modest reinterment ceremony was also attended by a Saaremaa man named Johannes Kaju, whose grandfather's remains lay in one of the cardboard coffins; the aforementioned school graduation badge provided him with the certainty he needed in this.
"He is said to have been killed together with a man who served in the same company, and that man was found with this school graduation badge," Kaju explained. "And since the men were from the same company, we can safely say that my grandfather is buried here too. I think it's a good thing that the soldiers can rest here now, and don't have to be by the side of the road."
He confirmed that this reinterment hasn't been upsetting for him. "It would have been worse if the memory of these men had been erased instead," he added.
"A neutral memorial to the victims of World War II has been placed here, and we won't exactly be adding any more elements to it," said Saaremaa Municipality crisis preparedness adviser Gunnar Havi. "The municipality has, however, been discussing the idea of possibly adding a small nameplate for those who were reburied here from Tehumardi."
Green grass is now growing where dolomite tombstones bearing Soviet five-pointed stars once stood, and Saaremaa Municipal Mayor Mikk Tuisk says it will stay that way.
Plans are in place, meanwhile, to cover up the inscription on the obelisk monument, known as the "Tehumardi Sword," which still refers to Red Army troops as the liberators of Saaremaa.
"I'd leave the burial site where it is," said Tuisk. "But the Sword and the area [around it] – why not make it a nicer rest area from a tourist perspective too? Because a lot of people visit there these days. They go to see the sea; they go to see the sunrise. In other words, it's a naturally beautiful place, and it could be developed more as a recreational area. Not for propaganda purposes – purely because people visit there and so they could enjoy their time in nature."
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
