On July 28, 1942, Lakeland High School graduate and U.S. Army Air Force Pfc. Robert Colter Jr., 23, died a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp in the Philippines. Colter succumbed to dysentery and malaria, following the infamous Bataan Death March.
On Feb. 7, Colter finally made it back to Lakeland, where his remains will be reinterred, with full military honors, on Feb. 22. He’ll now rest in Lakeland Memorial Gardens, just 50 yards from his parents’ graves and a few miles from the house where he grew up, at 504 Easton Drive.
Several events will take place this month to honor Colter. The public is welcome at all of them.
Feb. 17 at 9 a.m.: Mayor’s proclamation of Pfc. Robert Colter Day during the City Commission meeting, 228 S. Massachusetts Ave.
Feb. 21, 2 p.m.-4 p.m.: Viewing at Heath Funeral Home, 328 Ingraham Ave.
Feb. 22 at 11 a.m.: Reinterment ceremony at Lakeland Memorial Gardens, 2125 Bartow Road.