Thomas Vernon Long, a World War II soldier who died as a prisoner of war in the Philippines in 1942, will be buried Thursday, June 8, in Portales.
This past March, the Defense Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Accounting Agency announced it had identified his remains, which were originally buried in an unidentified grave in the Philippines.
Long’s 98-year-old sister, Billie Jean Sawyer, told KRQE News it was shocking to get the news.
“I remember him as a very caring, protective, considerate brother,” she told KRQE News. “I was the baby of the family, and he treated me like a queen.”
Army Private First Class Long was 27 when he died. He was a part of the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment and survived the Bataan Death March before dying in the Philippines as a prisoner of war. A body was returned to the family in 1949, but they always had doubts it was the correct one.
“My mother and I never really felt that the first body was his because when you’re close to somebody you have a gut feeling,” Sawyer said, according to KRQE News.
Chief of Identifications in the Army Past Conflict Repatriation Branch Michael Mee said Long was buried in an "X" grave.
“The Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency began a project where they started disinterring these unknown graves out of Manila American cemetery,” he told KRQE News. “They were then shipped to Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawaii, where the DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) has a laboratory there.”
Mee said Long was identified based on modern-day DNA technology. “It’s just the most rewarding mission imaginable,” Mee said. “I always tell people most Americans don’t realize there are some 81,000 missing Americans who never came home from World War II, Korea and Vietnam. It’s very rewarding to be a part of the mission in helping bring these guys home after identification.”
Long was honored on Memorial Day in a Portales cemetery ceremony. His burial is scheduled for the Portales cemetery. Mee said the remains originally buried in Long’s place will likely be sent to Hickam Air Force Base for analysis.