Remains of World War II Serviceman From RivCo to Return Home Next Week

RIVERSIDE, CA — A soldier from Riverside who died after the Japanese invaded the Philippines in World War II will be returned to the United States for burial in his hometown next week.

U.S. Army Air Corps Pvt. Charles R. Powers was 18 when he died in July 1942 on the island of Luzon.

The National Cemetery Administration has arranged for the repatriation of Powers' remains for interment at Riverside National Cemetery on Thursday.

The military support organization Honoring Our Fallen is seeking a public show of support for the fallen soldier when his casket arrives at Ontario International Airport and is borne to the mortuary on Tuesday.

According to the nonprofit, Powers was attached to the 28th Material Squadron, 20th Air Base Group at Nichols Field south of Manila when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on Dec. 7, 1941, followed immediately by a series of air assaults that largely decimated U.S. defense assets in the Philippines and led to the naval and ground invasion of the U.S.-held archipelago.

While what was left of American Army and Navy air forces retreated to the Dutch East Indies and Australia, ground personnel were left to try to fend off the Japanese invaders, culminating in the surrender of the Bataan peninsula in April 1942 and Corregidor weeks later.

Powers was among the tens of thousands of U.S. personnel subjected to the infamous "Bataan Death March" into captivity. At Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Camp, he was imprisoned and among over 2,500 men who died there. Camp records show he passed on July 18, 1942, buried in a local cemetery.

"Although interred as an `Unknown' ... Powers' grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission, along with others still missing from WW II," Honoring Our Fallen said.

His identity was ultimately confirmed, leading to arrangements for the repatriation of his remains.

"We reach out to the community ... to ask for your support lining the route with flags to honor this hero as he is returned home to receive the honors he deserves," Honoring Our Fallen said.

The "angel flight" bearing Powers' remains will arrive about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. The procession with his casket will depart the airport via East Airport Drive to northbound Archibald Avenue, then onto eastbound Interstate 10, turning south on Interstate 15 and then eastbound on the Pomona (60) Freeway, onto Interstate 215, exiting on Ethanac Road in Menifee, going directly to Evans-Brown Mortuary, 27010 Encanto Drive.

The funeral service on Thursday will be for family only.

More information is available at www.HonoringOurFallen.org.

City News Service