Subdeacon Joe Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 WWII soldier's remains return to Petaluma today Patriot Guard Riders and Warrior Watch Riders will join a military escort team from Healdsburg American Legion in a procession down Highway 101 from Windsor to Petaluma in honor of a World War II fallen soldier. The remains of Mervyn Earl Sims are finally coming home today on a flight into the Sonoma County airport, now scheduled about noon. A flag line will greet the plane prior to the escort from the airport to a cemetery in Petaluma. There is no casket, simply an urn carrying the remains of Sims, who disappeared over the Himalayas 68 years ago. He will be buried with full military honors at Petaluma's Cypress Hill Memorial Park Friday at 1 p.m. 68 years later, Petaluma soldier finally to be buried His niece, who is possibly Sims' only living relative, hopes anyone who knew her uncle will attend the funeral. Sharon Roloff of Folsom said the search for Sims' kin, including a mystery woman named Louise whom he apparently married in 1938, has turned her life in an unexpected direction. “I never knew Mervyn, of course,” said Roloff, a retired Folsom police information and crime prevention officer who was born in 1948. That was two years after Sims was declared dead, along with the other four servicemen aboard an Army cargo plane that crashed April 24, 1943, in the high mountain ranges of the Himalayas. The aircraft was flying the “Hump,” the World War II term for the 500-mile route between bases in India that airlifted supplies to Chinese forces fighting invaders from Japan. Search efforts failed to find the crew, and the men, including 23-year-old Sims, were declared dead in 1946. Sims' posthumous homecoming, nearly 68 years after his death, began with a phone call Roloff got in February from Army officials. His remains had been discovered in plane wreckage found in 2003 by an archaeologist trekking in the mountains near the border of India and Myanmar, an area off-limits to the U.S. military, Roloff said. Rest in peace, Soldier, your watch is over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 His remains had been discovered in plane wreckage found in 2003 by an archaeologist trekking in the mountains near the border of India and Myanmar, an area off-limits to the U.S. military, Roloff said. What do they mean by "area off limits to U.S. MILITARY? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flint McCloud 3103L Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Stand down, soldier... we'll take it from here... You have our thanks... Vaya con Dios Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 His remains had been discovered in plane wreckage found in 2003 by an archaeologist trekking in the mountains near the border of India and Myanmar, an area off-limits to the U.S. military, Roloff said. What do they mean by "area off limits to U.S. MILITARY? Well, since India and Myanmar are not the US, and there is some tension between the two, I can understand that foreign military would be excluded. The important thing is that he has been identified and is coming home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bama Red Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) is extremely antagonistic towards the West and the U. S. in particular. Military teams that normally recover servicemen's remains are not allowed into "Myanmar". Burma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Flying the "Hump" was hazzardous at best, go down in there and you had practically no hope of survival. Run into a Jap fighter and you some serious problems in a cargo plane. Some crews would carry tommy guns as an attempt to defend against them. Extreme high altitude flying......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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