Home at last: Westernport soldier killed in WWII returns after 82 years
The community was invited to honor Pfc. Kenneth L. Carpenter at an open house Thursday, Oct. 22, and at his burial with full military honors Friday, Oct. 23, at Rocky Gap.
More than 82 years after he was killed in action in Italy, Pfc. Kenneth L. Carpenter of Westernport is home.
Kenneth was 22 years old when he died at Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, on May 23, 1944, during World War II. On Aug. 14, 2026, his earthly remains finally arrived home to Westernport, the town he left to serve his country.
This week, his family invited the whole community to help welcome him home and lay him to rest.
The week's events
Open house: Thursday, Oct. 22, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Boal Funeral Home, Westernport. Visitors were welcome to stop in at any time during the day to learn about Kenneth's journey from his hometown of Westernport to Italy during World War II, and his long-awaited return home.
Tribute and family presentation: Thursday, Oct. 22, 6 p.m. Boal Funeral Home, Westernport. The Frostburg State University Chorale was scheduled to honor Kenneth with a selection of patriotic songs, followed by a brief presentation from Kenneth's family on his service during World War II and the journey that ultimately brought him home.
Funeral procession: Friday, Oct. 23, 10 a.m. The procession was set to leave Boal Funeral Home at 10 a.m. and travel along Route 135 and Route 220 to the cemetery.
Burial with full military honors: Friday, Oct. 23, 11 a.m. Maryland Veterans Cemetery at Rocky Gap, Flintstone.
A son of Westernport
Kenneth was born Feb. 4, 1922, the son of the late George and Nellie (VanPelt) Carpenter.
He was one of eight children. When he died, he left behind his brothers and sisters: Kathleen "Toots," Charles, William "Bill," Lawrence "Cap," Richard "Dick," Ronald "Bud" and Delores "Dot." All of them have since passed away, many without ever seeing their brother brought home.
Today, Kenneth is survived by many nieces, nephews and extended family, who have carried his memory forward and who saw him laid to rest.
A long road home
Kenneth gave his life far from the hills of the Georges Creek valley, in a war that took him across an ocean at an age when most young men today are just finishing college. For more than eight decades, his family waited for him to come back.
Now he has. On Friday, Oct. 23, he was to be buried with the honors he earned, among his fellow veterans at Rocky Gap.
His family invited everyone, whether they knew the Carpenter family or not, to stop by Boal Funeral Home, stand along Route 135 or Route 220 as the procession passed Friday morning, or join them at Rocky Gap to say what so many have waited 82 years to say:
Welcome home, Pfc. Carpenter.
