Missing pilot's remains returning to Alabama for burial

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - After dying on a distant battlefield more than 70 years ago, a Montgomery hero is returning home.

Army Air Force Maj. Peyton S. Mathis Jr., 28, died June 5, 1944, when the P-38J Lightning fighter plane he was piloting crashed in the jungle on Guadalcanal, said Sgt. 1st Class Shelia L. Cooper, USA, assigned to public affairs of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office in Arlington, Virginia. Crews found the crash site that day, but was unable to recover his remains because the airplane was in a dense swampy area, she said. In 2013, the plane was found, along with remains, said Lt. Col. Melinda F. Morgan of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) at Pearl Harbor.

The remains were positively identified as those of Mathis. His remains will be flown to Birmingham on Thursday, and he will be buried in Montgomery on Saturday afternoon at Greenwood Cemetery with full military honors, said Peyton S. Mathis III, Maj. Mathis' nephew and namesake who lives in Montgomery.

The younger Mathis, born in 1949, never knew his uncle. His father was Maj. Mathis' half-brother.

"It was relief when we got the call," Mathis said of the JPAC notification of the finding of the airplane. "Of course the family had little doubt what happened. We knew that there was a crash and we knew he could not be recovered at the time. But still it brings an ending to the story."

There was also little doubt in the family's minds about the identity of the remains. But still JPAC conducted an "exhaustive" process before informing the family that the remains were indeed those of Maj. Mathis, his nephew said. DNA testing cleared up any lingering questions, he added.

Maj. Mathis graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in 1932, his obituary reads. He earned a degree in chemical engineering from Vanderbilt University, where he played football. He volunteered as an aviation cadet in 1940. As a lieutenant, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Silver Star for his service in Europe and North Africa. He was later promoted to major and commanded the 44th Fighter Squadron in the Pacific Theater.

On that day he was leading a bombing mission against Japanese gun positions in the Shortland/Poporang area of the northern Solomon Islands chain, Cooper said. The P-38 is a twin-engined fighter. He developed problems with his right engine during the mission, which was later scrubbed due to weather conditions over the target, Cooper added.

While returning to Kukum Airfield on Guadalcanal, Maj. Mathis crashed.

The story of the finding of the aircraft, almost seven decades later, is fascinating in its own right. Anders Markwarth, an Australian living on Guadalcanal, searched for the aircraft in an effort to salvage it, Mathis said.

"We owe him a great deal," Mathis III said. "He found the airplane, and when he discovered that there were indeed remains present, he stopped his efforts. He contacted the authorities and that's how JPAC got involved."

Maj. Mathis' widow, Evelyn, lives in another state, Mathis said. She won't attend the graveside service due to poor health, but her sons from a following marriage will attend, he said.

"It's going to be like a family reunion, and we get to meet cousins we never knew we had," Mathis said.

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Information from: Montgomery Advertiser, http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com