After 77 years, Meigs County soldier slain in World War II gets laid to rest
Army Maj. Patrick Hernandez bends to one knee to give Marie Johnson the flag which had been draped over the casket of her uncle, Army Pfc. James W. White. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
Army Pfc. James W. White was 21 years old when he was killed in Burma during World War II. His remains were identified through forensic testing in January 2020. (Photo Provided)
The flag-draped casket was carried by a six-man honor guard to the gravesite of Army Pfc. James W. White. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
At the end of the flag-folding ceremony, the flag was held and saluted before being given to White’s niece, Marie Johnson. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
Army Maj. Patrick Hernandez and family member Rhonda Hendershot escort White’s 93-year-old niece, Marie Johnson, to the gravesite. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
Bikers lead the procession for Army Pfc. James W. White Saturday in Pomeroy beneath the ladders of Pomeroy and Middleport fire department trucks. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
The flag-draped casket carrying the remains of Army Pfc. James W. White was transferred by local veterans from a horse-drawn hearse to a motorized vehicle. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
Local veterans lined the path from the hearse to the gravesite of Army Pfc. James W. White. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
The six-man honor guard carries the flag-draped casket past saluting veterans from local organizations. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
Next to the gravesite of Army Pfc. James W. White sat a memorial to his service in the U.S. Army. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
Army Maj. Patrick Hernandez bends to one knee to give Marie Johnson the flag which had been draped over the casket of her uncle, Army Pfc. James W. White. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
Army Pfc. James W. White was 21 years old when he was killed in Burma during World War II. His remains were identified through forensic testing in January 2020. (Photo Provided)
The flag-draped casket was carried by a six-man honor guard to the gravesite of Army Pfc. James W. White. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
At the end of the flag-folding ceremony, the flag was held and saluted before being given to White’s niece, Marie Johnson. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
Army Maj. Patrick Hernandez and family member Rhonda Hendershot escort White’s 93-year-old niece, Marie Johnson, to the gravesite. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
Bikers lead the procession for Army Pfc. James W. White Saturday in Pomeroy beneath the ladders of Pomeroy and Middleport fire department trucks. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
The flag-draped casket carrying the remains of Army Pfc. James W. White was transferred by local veterans from a horse-drawn hearse to a motorized vehicle. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
Local veterans lined the path from the hearse to the gravesite of Army Pfc. James W. White. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
The six-man honor guard carries the flag-draped casket past saluting veterans from local organizations. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
Next to the gravesite of Army Pfc. James W. White sat a memorial to his service in the U.S. Army. (Photo by Michele Newbanks)
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LONG BOTTOM, Ohio -- Under bright blue skies, the remains of Army Pfc. James Wilmer White were finally laid to rest for the last time Saturday afternoon in the White Family Cemetery in Long Bottom.
White's journey took him from current day Myanmar to India and Hawaii before eventually leading him back to southeastern Ohio.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said the 21-year-old White was killed in action in July 1944 while a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), also known as Merrill's Marauders.
The remains of other servicemen killed in the siege of Myitkyina, Burma, were buried in at least eight different temporary cemeteries and other isolated burial locations, the agency reported.
The bodies were interred in the U.S. Military Cemetery at Myitkyina, including White, who was one of the unidentified, but in 1946, they were all moved to a U.S. military cemetery in India.
White, who was designated Unknown X-52 Kalaikunda, was reburied in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii in 1949.
After being disinterred in 2018, his remains were sent to a laboratory in Hawaii, where he was finally identified through forensic testing as James Wilmer White in January 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense noted.
In October, the Merrill's Marauders were given the Congressional Gold Medal.
Due to COVID restrictions, White, who was a native of Chester, wasn't able to be brought to Ohio for more than a year.
His funeral was held Saturday in Pomeroy, with a horse-drawn hearse taking him from the funeral home to near the city limits. The processional was led by several local veterans organizations, members of the Pomeroy Police Department and the Meigs County Sheriff's Office.
Ladder trucks from Pomeroy and Middleport were on hand with a flag flying high as his flag-draped casket was then transferred to a white hearse. He was escorted by more than two dozen vehicles to the cemetery.
At every intersection along the way, police cars and fire trucks were there to salute as the procession passed. Local residents stood in yards along the route, hands on hearts, flags proudly waving, to welcome him home.
Once at the cemetery, he was carried by a six-man honor guard to the gravesite, where he was given full military honors, with a 21-gun salute, flag-folding ceremony and a bugler playing Taps.
Once folded, the flag was given to White's 93-year-old niece, Marie Johnson.
Michele Newbanks can be reached at mnewbanks@mariettatimes.com.