A young Canadian soldier killed only a few months after the First World War victory at Vimy Ridge, but whose body wasn't found for 86 years, received a proper military burial.
Pte. Herbert Peterson, 22, of Berry Creek, Alta. was carried through La Chaudiere military cemetery by Canadian soldiers on Saturday.
Peterson's body was one of two discovered four years ago by French construction workers who were digging up a road in Avion, France.
Along with Peterson's relatives, former governor-general Adrienne Clarkson was among political and military dignitaries on hand for the ceremony.
"We're very, very proud of our uncle for doing the service at the time," Doreen Bargholz, Peterson's niece, said on Saturday.
"He probably didn't have to do that, but he wanted to do that for his country."
Peterson signed up for battle in 1916 when he was 20 years old and arrived on French soil a year later.
He survived less than five months and died on June 8 or 9, 1917 during a night raid on German trenches.
The raid was successful, but took the lives of 36 members of Peterson's battalion. Sixteen of those bodies were never located.
Investigators speculate Peterson was badly wounded in his legs and his abdomen when a comrade came to his assistance and began carrying him back to the Canadian position.
Officials believe an artillery shell must have exploded overhead or nearby, killing both soldiers and covering their bodies with dirt.
Canadian forensic scientists analyzed scraps of uniform, a cap badge and bits of ammunition and equipment identified in order to identify Peterson.
More than 11,000 soldiers went missing in the First World War. Their names are etched into the Vimy memorial. Peterson's is the first to be identified by DNA testing.
Peterson was a member of the 49th Battalion, Canadian Infantry, a unit that later evolved into the Loyal Edmonton Regiment.
The ceremony is one of a number of events in France over the Easter weekend to mark the 90th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge and rededication of the restored Vimy Memorial. The battle, which began April 9th, 1917, became one of Canada's most spectacular military victories.
With a report from CTV's Tom Kennedy
