By Reagan Connelly

BROCK - Sgt. White Goings Jr.,  who attended high school in Peru just a few miles from the Glenrock Cemetery where he was honored Friday,  is one of those few men to whom our nation owes so much. He made the ultimate sacrifice for his country in a Japanese POW camp 82 years ago. Now, he has finally come home.

Nebraska Army National Guard Col. Dan Benes said it was the first time in his 32 years of service that he had attended a repatriation ceremony for a POW.

 

Col. Benes: "That's what makes it extra special; just being able to honor a WWII veteran in the service and that's really- doing that- we really stand on their shoulders, what we accomplish now as soldiers, all the service and sacrifice, we couldn't have done it without the past generation."

This was also a moment of closure for the descendants of White's nephew. Rose Guhde of Missouri and Mary Biere of Auburn said their father is Sgt. Goings' nephew. He provided DNA samples in 2015 and worked tirelessly to bring the remains home.

 

Biere: "It really brings, I guess you could say, closure because we've always wanted to have a place here in our family cemetery- a lot of our family members are buried here- to even show that he existed, because there really isn't anything, you know, burial marker, anything that even showed that he had even lived. And so it's nice to have him brought back here and lay him to be buried by his parents."

White's air base in the Philippines was raided within hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor - making him among the first Americans to see combat in WWII.

 

He survived the 65-mile bataan death march, but reportedly succumbed to malaria in a Japanese prison camp in 1942. 

White was a member of the Army Air Corps, a division that later became the Air Force. Also attending the ceremony were legacy members of that corps.

Chief Master Sergeant Jonathan Zuraff said Sgt. Goings' 93rd Bombardment Squadron dates back to the beginnings of the Air Force.

 

 

MSgt. Zuraff: "It's wonderful to see the history of the uh, of the Army Air Corps, the legacy that we have. One of the things that we, that the Air Force prides itself on is its history. You know, we say that we are faithful to our proud heritage, and that heritage goes back quite a ways in a way that predates the Air Force itself as it was established as a service."

The family received the Good Conduct Award, POW ribbon, Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for White's service.