Arlington burial service held for soldier whose remains were stolen

Norbert Otto Schmidt, a retired Army colonel who died in August, was honored at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday with a burial service befitting a decorated veteran of the Korean War.

The ceremony featured all the Army's Old Guard solemn pomp: a tri-folded U.S. flag, a horse-drawn caisson, rifle volleys and a bugler sounding taps.

The only thing missing was the brass urn containing the ashes of the deceased. The urn, stolen Thursday from a van parked near the Mall, hasn't been found. So Schmidt's family went ahead with the Arlington service without their loved one's remains -- a burial service without a burial.

The ashes were to have been interred in a grave. But that won't happen unless the urn is found. For now, Schmidt, who was 83, will get a white marble headstone in a section of the cemetery reserved for former soldiers whose remains are missing, said his daughter Carol Schmidt.

"I don't think I'll ever get over this," she said.

Schmidt, who lived in Satellite Beach, Fla., died Aug. 4. The urn was inside a turquoise bag stolen from a 12-seat van rented by members of Schmidt's family, who drove to Washington from Florida with the ashes.

A computer, jewelry and electronics also were taken, along with Schmidt's Army discharge papers and death certificate.

The van was parked near the National Museum of the American Indian while family members were sightseeing. When they returned to the van, they saw that the lock on one of its door had been broken.

Schmidt, a 1949 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, received two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star while serving as a combat engineer during the Korean War.