8-10-04 - Less than a week after a Vietnam-era airman was finally laid to rest in Sherman, his widow is threatening to have his body exhumed.

On Friday, family members of Chief Master Sergeant Luther Lee Rose buried his remains at Akers Cemetery, 38 years after his plane was shot down over Laos. But not all of his family members knew about the service. His widow, Beverly Rose, and her daughter learned of the ceremony by reading a Louisiana newspaper.

It’s a new twist that could put Luther at the center of another war between his two families. Today First News spoke with his aunt, Marie Carey, who still lives in Sherman. She says the families had a falling out in the late 1970’s, when Luther was declared Killed in Action, over his death benefits.

But since then, Beverly Rose has collected his benefits, and is listed on Luther’s military records. The military says they’re investigating why the remains were released to his elder daughter, and why Beverly wasn’t contacted. Meanwhile, Beverly wants to remove her husband from Sherman’s Akers Cemetery and move him to Louisiana.