(Tribune News Service) — Army Air Force Maj. Peyton S. Mathis Jr. was laid to rest in his hometown Saturday, a journey that took 70 years and 7,938 miles to complete.
Mathis, 28, and commanding officer of the 44th Fighter Squadron, died June 5, 1944, when the P-38J Lightning he was piloting crashed in the jungle on Guadalcanal, said Army Sgt. 1st Class Shelia L. Cooper, assigned to public affairs of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office in Arlington, Virginia.
Crews found the crash site that day but were unable to recover his remains because the airplane was in a dense swampy area, she said. In 2013, the plane was found, along with the remains, said Lt. Col. Melinda F. Morgan, USAF, of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) at Pearl Harbor.
Mathis was buried Saturday afternoon, with full military honors, at Greenwood Cemetery.
"Welcome home," said Father John Coleman, who officiated at the graveside service. "Those are the first words that come to mind. We all today want to say 'Welcome home Maj. Mathis.' But for those in Christ, they are always home wherever they go. So for all these years, Maj. Mathis has sat at that heavenly banquet."
Coleman described Mathis as a husband, soldier, scholar, gentleman and '..a true American hero."
"Well done, thou good and faithful servant," Coleman said, wrapping up the service. "And on this day, may your soul rest in peace."
The keening of a bagpipe and the mournful sounds of "Taps" wafted across the fog shrouded cemetery as honors were rendered by an Army honor guard. About 100 people attended the service. Many mourners jumped at the firing of the traditional rifle salute.
On that day so long ago, Maj. Mathis 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-engine fighter. He developed problems with his right engine during the mission, which was later scrubbed because of weather conditions over the target, Cooper said.
While returning to Kukum Airfield on Guadalcanal, Maj. Mathis low on fuel, circled the airfield while the other pilots in his squadron landed. He crashed in the jungle. The military attempted to recover his remains for several years, before declaring on Feb. 13, 1949 that his body was unrecoverable.
"He's home," said Peyton S, Mathis III, wiping away tears after the service. He is Maj. Mathis' nephew and namesake. The younger Mathis' father and Maj. Mathis were half-brothers. Born in 1949, Mathis never knew his uncle.
"The service was wonderful, it went off without a hitch," Mathis said. There was never any doubt among the family as to what happened to Maj. Mathis. "I don't like to use the word 'closure' but this brings an end to the story. I'm so thankful we were able to bring him home."
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 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 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.
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©2015 the Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Ala.)
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