2 brothers pay respects as Marine killed in WWII is buried

The remains of a Marine lost since the early days of World War II have been buried in Philadelphia, more than 70 years after he was killed.

Dominic Ragucci had thought that the body of brother Emil was swept out to sea during a battle on the Pacific atoll of Tarawa. On Tuesday, the 86-year-old and his family finally held a funeral after the remains were recovered and brought back to the U.S.

He was laid to rest in the family's plot in Philadelphia, near his parents and his brother Nicholas, who was killed in Italy less than 90 days after Emil's death.

This undated photo provided by the United States Marine Corps shows Emil Ragucci, who was killed in action during World War II. Decades after his death in the South Pacific Battle of Tarawa, Ragucci's remains are scheduled to return home to Philadelphia on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. (United States Marine Corps via AP)

Dominic and 91-year-old brother Victor Ragucci stood on the tarmac Monday as Emil's body was returned.

Emil was 19 when he was killed during a bloody three-day battle.

This image shows a Western Union Telegram dated Dec. 23, 1943, announcing that United States Marine Corps Private Emil Ragucci was killed in action during World War II. Decades after his death in the South Pacific Battle of Tarawa, Ragucci's remains are scheduled to return home to Philadelphia on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. (Courtesy of the Ragucci family via AP)

In this early 1940s photo provided by the United States Marine Corps, Emil Ragucci poses with a rifle. Decades after his death in the World War II Battle of Tarawa in the South Pacific, Ragucci's remains are scheduled to return home to Philadelphia on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. (United States Marine Corps via AP)

This combination of undated photos shows five of the Ragucci brothers, from left: Anthony, Emil, Joseph, Nicholas, and Dante, all of whom served in the United States armed services during World War II. Nearly 70 years after Emil's death in the South Pacific Battle of Tarawa, his remains are scheduled to return home to Philadelphia on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. (Courtesy of the Ragucci family via AP)

In this July 31, 2018 photo, Dominic Ragucci points to a photo of himself, top left, and his brothers Gus, center, and Victor during a interview with The Associated Press in Philadelphia. The three siblings were all members of the United States armed services. (AP PhotoMatt Rourke)

In this undated photo provided by the Ragucci family, Carmela and Nicola Ragucci pose with their daughter, Mary. Eight of the couple's sons served in the military during and after World War II. (Courtesy of the Ragucci family via AP)

BERLIN (AP) — The German government has sharply rejected accusations by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claiming that it has been sidelining patient autonomy, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The statements made by the US Secretary of Health are completely unfounded, factually incorrect, and must be rejected,” German Health Minister Nina Warken said in a statement late Saturday.

Kennedy said in a video post earlier on Saturday that he had sent the German minister a letter based on reports coming out of Germany that the government was “limiting people’s abilities to act on their own convictions when they face medical decisions.”

The American health secretary said that “I've learned that more than a thousand German physicians and thousands of their patients now face prosecution and punishment for issuing exemptions from wearing masks or getting COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic."

Warken rejected Kennedy’s claims, saying that “during the coronavirus pandemic, there was never any obligation on the medical profession to administer COVID-19 vaccinations. Anyone who did not want to offer vaccinations for medical, ethical, or personal reasons was not liable to prosecution, nor did they have to fear sanctions.”

Kennedy did not give provide specific examples or say which reports he was referring to but added that “in my letter, I explained that Germany is targeting physicians who put their patients first and punishing citizens for making their own medical choices.”

He concluded that "the German government is now violating the sacred patient physician relationship, replacing it is a dangerous system that makes physicians enforcers of state policies.”

Kennedy said that in his letter he made clear that “Germany has the opportunity and the responsibility to correct this trajectory, to restore medical autonomy, to end politically motivated prosecutions.”

Warken pointed out that there were no professional bans or fines for not getting vaccinated.

“Criminal prosecution was only pursued in cases of fraud and document forgery, such as the issuance of false vaccination certificates or fake mask certificates," the minister said.

She also clarified that in general in Germany “patients are also free to decide which therapy they wish to undergo.”

Former German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who was in charge during the pandemic, also replied, addressing Kennedy directly on X saying that he “should take care of health problems in his own country. Short life expectancy, extreme costs, tens of thousands of drug deaths and murder victims."

“In Germany, doctors are not punished by the government for issuing false medical certificates. In our country, the courts are independent,” Lauterbach wrote.

While a majority of Germans were eager to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus during the pandemic, there were also protests by a small minority of vaccine skeptics in Germany which were sometimes supported by far-right movements.

FILE - Robert Kennedy Jr., center, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Health and Human Services Department, walks between meetings with senators on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)