Missing WWII pilot's remains return from Guadalcanal

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

U.S. Army Air Forces 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, of the public affairs department of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office in Arlington, Va.

Crews found the crash site that day, but were unable to recover Mathis' remains because the airplane was in a dense swampy area, Cooper said.

In 2013, the plane was found again, along with remains, said Lt. Col. Melinda F. Morgan, of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

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

The younger Mathis lives in Montgomery. Born in 1949, he never knew his uncle, who was his father's half-brother.

"It was relief when we got the call" that the plane had been found, Mathis said. "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 Mathis, his nephew said. DNA testing cleared up any lingering questions, he said.

Peyton Mathis Jr. 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 June 5, 1944, he was leading a bombing mission against Japanese gun positions in the Shortland/Poporang area of the northern Solomon Islands chain, Cooper said. Mathis developed problems with his right engine of the twin-engine fighter during the mission, which was later scrubbed due to weather conditions over the target, Cooper said.

While returning to Kukum Airfield on Guadalcanal, 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 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."

Mathis' widow, Evelyn, lives in another state, the younger 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.

Roney also reports for the The Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser.