Remains transferred as Navy works to resolve a WWII mix-up

By Bobby Caina Calvan

Last Updated 5:59 am PDT Thursday, April 24, 2008



A U.S. Navy honor guard on Wednesday removes the coffin of an unidentified person killed during World War II from a cemetery crypt in the San Joaquin County town of French Camp. The military believed the remains were those of Navy gunner Wesley Stuart until his family proved they weren't by DNA testing. Autumn Cruz / acruz@sacbee.com




FRENCH CAMP – In uniforms that were crisp, white and formal, a military honor guard arrived Wednesday at the cemetery just outside this San Joaquin County town.
Sixty years ago, a bronze metal casket had arrived with what the U.S. Navy said were the remains of a young local man who had perished under fire in the South Pacific.
On Wednesday, amid pomp and ceremony, the same casket was removed from its crypt and ushered into a white hearse.

For decades, the military had said the bones in the casket were those of Wesley Stuart, a 20-year-old Navy airman who presumably perished in the South Pacific archipelago of Palau when his plane was shot down during World War II.
For decades, his family believed otherwise, but brought flowers to the mausoleum in Park View Cemetery to pay their respects for someone they knew was some other family's son.
"If they never find my brother's remains, he'll still remain in our hearts," said Mary Ellen Roberts, 77, who was joined by her husband and two sons during Wednesday's solemn ceremony.
"It's kind of sad," she said as she hugged family members. "I don't have the feeling of insecurity and wondering that I had. That's all gone, thank God."
All those years of wondering, she said, have ended. Earlier this year, she confirmed that the remains weren't those of her older brother. A DNA test proved it.
The U.S. Navy reopened the case. On Wednesday, an honor guard from Sacramento escorted the flag-draped coffin from the mausoleum to a hearse that would take the remains to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield.
Later, they would be flown to Honolulu for analysis at the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command.
"This case is special," said Navy Capt. Tom Marotta, who flew from Tennessee to attend Wednesday's ceremony. "There was no evidence for us to reopen the case, but she persisted," he said, referring to Roberts. "She used her own time and funds."
In all, 78,000 U.S. service members who served in World War II are classified as missing in action. JPAC says 1,500 remain missing in the Caroline Islands, where Palau is located. About 1,000 of those probably were lost at sea.
"Using the science of today, we'll try and go back 64 years and solve the mystery," Marotta said, conceding that it likely will take time – who knows how long.
"Who is in that casket? Where is Wesley Stuart?" Those are questions that still intrigue Mary Ellen Roberts and her family, but they are ready to let go and move on.
"It's a kind of closure. We think we've got some of our answers," said her son, Steve Roberts, 40, who bid farewell to the man he and his older brother Richard called "Buddy" all these years.
Three years ago, more bones were found at the site where Stuart's plane went down. But the military has yet to identify the remains.
Roberts and her family may feel closure, but the story could be far from over, said Jennifer Powers, a documentary filmmaker who attended Wednesday's ceremony. She had chronicled the discovery of the Stuart's downed Avenger, a Navy torpedo bomber, by a crew of explorers under the umbrella of the BentProp project.
According to its Web site, the group "searches the waters and jungles of the western Pacific … for clues that may lead to the location and identification of wreck sites and remains of men who gave their lives in defense of America."

"I feel a deep connection with the aircraft and with the family," Powers said. "Our connection might be tangential, but our hearts are firmly attached."

Wesley Stuart

Mary Ellen Roberts, left, is escorted by Navy Capt. Tom Marotta to pay respects to an unknown person previously thought to be her brother. Autumn Cruz / acruz@sacbee.com

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For the first time I have seen "History" at close quarters,and I know that its actual process is very different from what is presented to Posterity. - WWI General Max Hoffman

That article certainly showed the depth and willingness of the family for sacrifice. I salute that family because they also showed that they still care for the other families that lost loved ones in World War II.
Though they might not achieve closure, their efforts can help another family achieve that.