John H. Sheally II/the Virginian-Pilot file photo
Posted on 03/31/2006 6:02:33 AM PST by wagglebee
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| Fern Lord, now 83, says the return of the remains of her long-lost brother Charles “Buddy” Feucht will be just in time. John H. Sheally II/the Virginian-Pilot file photo
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2004 article: Out of the blue
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SUFFOLK - It's been 62 years since Fern Lord's brother disappeared.
Four years since human bones were discovered in New Guinea inside the rusted wreckage of a World War II bomber.
Three years since those remains were retrieved from the jungle and carried to a military lab in Hawaii.
Two years since Lord submitted a vial of her blood for DNA testing.
And one day since it all came to an end.
On Thursday, word of a genetic match arrived at Lord's Suffolk home. Charles "Buddy" Feucht will soon be back with family.
Lord says it's just in time. She and a sister in Ohio are the only ones left of Buddy's immediate family. She is 83 years old; her sister is 85.
Buddy was 24 when he vanished.
"God kept us on this earth just long enough so we could find out what happened to him," Lord said. "I don't know whether to laugh or cry."
The family's roots are in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, a small town east of Columbus. The Feuchts were dairy farmers, and Buddy was one of two sons who trooped off to fight the enemy more than six decades ago. One came home, but Buddy went missing, along with the rest of his nine-man crew.
It was 1943, and Buddy was a bombardier aboard a B-24 Liberator. On the night of Nov. 5, his plane was part of a formation hunting Japanese ships in the dark waters north of Australia. Violent thunderstorms rocked the skies. Buddy's plane peeled away for a closer look below.
It was not seen again until the spring of 2002, when a hunter stumbled upon its vine-covered hulk, crumpled into the side of New Guinea's mountainous backbone.
Lord, who married and eventually moved to Hampton Roads, shared her brother's story with The Virginian-Pilot in 2004. She told of years of waiting and wondering. Of a farmhouse where no one ever again locked the door, just in case Buddy came home. Of parents and siblings who died without learning his fate.
"It's been so long," Lord said. "Every day, you wake up and wonder if this is the one."
The past two years have been particularly frustrating, waiting for DNA results from the chronically underfunded and overburdened U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory. There, the long-missing can land at the bottom of the priority list. That's a real problem for aging survivors such as Lord, who feel the need to bury their own before they're buried themselves.
"I told my sister, we'd better hurry up with the funeral," Lord said. "I didn't hold on this long to miss the ceremony now."
Johnny Johnson is the one who called Feucht's family Thursday with the news. He works at the Army's Casualty and Mortuary Affairs center in Alexandria. He won't say whether the remains of any of Buddy's crew mates have been identified. Their survivors, if there are any, have yet to be notified.
"I can only say that this is a historic event," Johnson said. "We're glad we can give this news so families can finally have some closure."
Feucht's remains will be flown under military escort to Ohio, where he'll be buried beside his parents, with full military honors.
Sandrat, I thought you might like to ping this to your list.
Thanks!
I figured that there was somebody I ought to ping on this, but I didn't have a clue who it was.
Welcome Home Buddy! RIP with your family!
Unfortunate headline.
Welcome home Buddy! Thank you and your family for your sacrifice for this country. Peace and God rest your soul!
My dad passed two years ago today (my uncle, his twin died 33 yrs ago today) so the timing of this story is perfect for my heart. Daddy would have been so happy that one of his fallen 'brothers' finally made it home.
WWII hero finally identified and can now rest in peace and honor.
I did good?
BTTT
Good news for the family. I had a cousin who was missing from WWII until 1991. It's haunting for the entire family.
Ya did Good
really cool story ping
Please keep me on that pinglist. I end up reading a lot of the same threads you ping to, might as well see them all.
I'm glad for the sisters, but those poor parents, not to ever know...
Makes me wanna hug my jedis.
Thanks for the ping, Corin.
Glad that Buddy's home at last. :-)
Must be a great story, but my screen is blurry, so it's hard to tell.
Thanks Corin. It has come full Circle.
added to the Patriot and the FRCanteen Ping list
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