Military honors bestowed on Illinois veteran identified nearly a decade after death
- On July 1, 2025, a military funeral with honors took place in Chicago’s Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery to honor Reba Caroline Bailey, an Illinois veteran who had been unidentified until her death in 2015.
- The funeral followed a breakthrough in 2023 when investigators matched fingerprints taken after death to a 1961 Army record, uncovering the identity of Seven Doe as Reba Caroline Bailey, a Women’s Army Corps veteran who had experienced memory loss and homelessness in Chicago.
- Family members, including Mark Bailey and his son Cole, attended the service, honoring both parts of Reba Bailey’s life and replacing her numbered grave marker with a plaque bearing her name and rank as PFC US Army.
- The service featured prayers, a 21-gun salute, and taps, while Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart expressed that the Illinois veteran merited official military recognition and a flag presented by the president of the United States.
- The event brought closure to the family and highlighted the challenges of identifying missing veterans with estranged histories, with investigators noting they may never know all details, but the recognition affirms her place in the family and community.
33 Articles
33 Articles

Military honors bestowed on Illinois veteran identified nearly a decade after death
A veteran who died in Chicago without any recollection of their life has been memorialized in a funeral service with military honors.
Military honors bestowed on Illinois veteran identified nearly a decade after death | The New York Ledger
CHICAGO– Standing near the gravestone for the relative he never ever fulfilled, Mark Bailey accepted the crisply folded American flag from the Army officer, hugged it to his chest and closed his eyes. Though the individual he called his auntie – born Reba Caroline Bailey – had actually been separated, missing out on for years and passed away in 2015 as an unknown ward of the state, he felt connection and a sense of closure. ” I wish to let Reba …
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