Bartow cemetery buries Vietnam veteran's remains in another family's plot

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A battle between the family of a Vietnam veteran, whose remains were laid to rest in Wildwood Cemetery, and the city of Bartow is escalating.

The remains of the family’s loved one, Jerry Paul, was buried two years ago. They thought it was his final resting place until the city discovered that Paul was buried in the wrong place. City workers interred him in a plot owned by another family.

“We were devastated,” his son Chris told FOX 13. “Nobody should have to go through this.”

The owners of the plot where Paul is buried don’t want to sell it, so the city wants Paul’s body moved.

“We buried him once. We are not going to bury him again,” insisted his son.

“To us, it is sacrilege to move him,” added Paul’s daughter-in-law, Sara. “Once someone is buried, they should be left there and not moved.”

The city's attorney, Sean Parker, says occasionally mistakes are made, and this is one of them. 

“The city remains committed to working with the family to find a reasonable and appropriate solution," he wrote.

However, no one has come up with one yet. So the Pauls have retained their own attorney,

“He is going to file a lawsuit against the city to keep Mr. Paul where he is at,” Sara said.