After 69 years.. Welcome Home!!

As a child I remember listening to my grandma talk about her Uncle Vernal. I can’t remember all the details of everything she said, but the thing I remember most was the fact that he flew a plane in WWII and that he never came home. As a young girl I didn’t quite get this concept, but as I got older I began to understand more when she would talk about him. I knew he was a young man that was on a bombing mission to Japan and that his plane went down. They couldn’t tell us if it went down over the ocean or into the jungle. The family believed that he went into the ocean and would never be found again.  As a child this just didn’t seem right to me. I remember always asking my Grandma if he could be found, if they could search the ocean? If there was something anyone could do? She talked of her Uncle and how well liked he was by everyone. “Everyone’s favorite.” She said the last time she saw him he was flying over Lindon when she was just a little girl, she was with her mom and Vernal tipped his wings. This was his way of saying hello. She eagerly waved "hi" back to him. When my grandma started having children of her own she was asked by her grandma (Vernal’s mother) to name her son after Vernal, as he would never have a namesake of his own. She was honored to do so.



The kids reading the last letter he wrote home for
Fox13 News.



As an adult I think back now on the stories and the legacy that was passed on through each generation and I am filled with wonder that such a man can impact so many people he never got to meet. I mean he is a great, great, great uncle to me and I can see how loved he was, even now, and still loved today. How can this one person still continue to impact us today? It has been 69 years since he went missing. March 12, 1944. Shortly before he went missing he wrote a letter home. Talking about how lonely it is, how the night sky is so deceiving with the war going on. In other letters, he spoke of the tent he called home and asked for everyone to write to him. In his words, “Letters are damn welcome.” I couldn’t imagine being away from home, off to war fighting for our freedom. I can bet that any tidbit of information from home was like Christmas for a young child.



Dog tags found in his tent and sent home.



Not long ago, I remember getting the information that they found his plane and a bone. They ran a DNA test against that of my aunt Elaine and it matched. How amazing is that? After so long HE HAD BEEN FOUND. Not in the ocean, but in the jungles of New Guinea. WOW! They found a leg bone near the plane that crashed, one bone, in the jungle and it was him. Crews were able to search around the wreckage and find more remains. They have not been able to search inside the plane due to a bomb still active. They hope in time they can deactivate the bomb and do some more searching. His co-pilot, gunner, Roy Davis is still missing in action. I pray that they can soon locate his remains and give his family the peace and closure we were able to receive.





Yesterday my family and I were privileged to welcome Uncle Vernal home. I cannot even begin to share with you the feelings that overwhelmed me as I watched the events unfold. We were shuttled out onto the runway. As we looked behind us we noticed the police escort. As we got off the bus and stood by watching the plane taxi toward the gate it too was given a police escort. There were fire trucks presenting a water canon over the plane as it came through. We were then shuttled to the gate where we saw many strangers watching at the windows, the airport employees standing with their hats off and hands over their hearts, military, retired and active saluting. Watching as a casket draped in an American Flag as it was carried by the honor guard into a waiting hearse. The feeling of knowing he is finally home, knowing that this was an event that I will not ever forget. Being able to share this with my own children, watching them be interviewed by news crews about the importance of what was going on; their understanding of what was unfolding. Having this overwhelming feeling that Uncle Vernal was there holding Jayden and watching us welcome his body home. The feelings were incredible, it was so very powerful. I am so thankful to those that worked hard to get him home. To those that didn’t accept the fact that he crashed into the ocean and wouldn’t give up.

In the windows you can see the strangers standing watching
them carry him from the plane.

There was a police escort from the airport to Springville where he will be laid to rest on Saturday with full Military Honors. As we were driving through Springville many people pulled over, got out of their cars and placed their hands on their hearts or saluted. Many people were standing on the side of the road waving flags and waving hello as we drove by. The kids sat and watched and asked why they were doing that. I was so proud to tell them that they were welcoming him home too. They were sharing with us in any way they could. That this hero finally has a resting place his family can visit him. It was such an amazing experience; I am blown away at the fact that there is still humanity in this world. I was telling my husband just recently how I have been disappointed in how people treat others, but yesterday, I saw hope and goodness in strangers. Best of all I was able to share it with my family, my children, we were able to witness an amazing event. A once in a lifetime event and witness the respect that one person can receive by hundreds that didn’t personally know him. That is the legacy I would love to be able to leave. That is the legacy that is worth leaving.

WELCOME HOME UNCLE VERNAL! THANK YOU FOR FIGHTING FOR OUR FREEDOM AND GIVING THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE! I LOVE YOU!!