NASHVILLE, Tenn.--A Nashville soldier killed during World War II is finally coming home to rest after years of going unidentified.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced on Friday Marine Corps Reserve Cpl. William R. Ragsdale of Nashville was accounted for on April 15 this year after going unidentified for decades since his death in 1944.
I did a Patriot Guard mission in July 2019 in Marlborough, MA for a WWII vet, TSgt Alfred R. Sandini. He enlisted without notifying his parents immediately after hearing FDR's Pearl Harbor speech. His B-25 was shot down over French Indochina on a bombing run against the Do Len Bridge in Thanh Province on Dec. 15, 1944 where he and his entire crew perished. Their remains were recovered in 1949 and placed in storage, but were unidentifiable even by DNA analysis. Until February 2019, when advanced techniques were used and the entire crew was identified. Alfred was brought home in a huge town-wide event on July 20, 2019 that I was proud to be a part of. It was one of the most brutal PGR missions I have ever done. Multiple aspects and temps over 100 degrees. His mother's dying wish was that her son someday comes home. Alfred was buried with full military honors next to his mother.
These stories of final identification and being laid to rest are a cornucopia of emotions; gut-wrenching loss, the long term storage of remains, the happiness of seeing someone finally coming home, and the pride of having been a part of it.
Lo, There do I see my Father Lo, There do I see my Mother and My Brothers and my Sisters Lo, There do I see the line of my people back to the beginning Lo, They do call to me They bid me take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla Where thine enemies have been vanquished Where the brave shall live Forever Nor shall we mourn but rejoice for those that have died the glorious death.
I did a Patriot Guard mission in July 2019 in Marlborough, MA for a WWII vet, TSgt Alfred R. Sandini. He enlisted without notifying his parents immediately after hearing FDR's Pearl Harbor speech. His B-25 was shot down over French Indochina on a bombing run against the Do Len Bridge in Thanh Province on Dec. 15, 1944 where he and his entire crew perished. Their remains were recovered in 1949 and placed in storage, but were unidentifiable even by DNA analysis. Until February 2019, when advanced techniques were used and the entire crew was identified. Alfred was brought home in a huge town-wide event on July 20, 2019 that I was proud to be a part of. It was one of the most brutal PGR missions I have ever done. Multiple aspects and temps over 100 degrees. His mother's dying wish was that her son someday comes home. Alfred was buried with full military honors next to his mother.
ReplyDeleteThese stories of final identification and being laid to rest are a cornucopia of emotions; gut-wrenching loss, the long term storage of remains, the happiness of seeing someone finally coming home, and the pride of having been a part of it.
Welcome home and thank you for giving all so that I had a life.
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DeleteLo, There do I see my Father
ReplyDeleteLo, There do I see my Mother and
My Brothers and my Sisters
Lo, There do I see the line of my people back to the beginning
Lo, They do call to me
They bid me take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla
Where thine enemies have been vanquished
Where the brave shall live Forever
Nor shall we mourn but rejoice for those that have died the glorious death.