Ellensburg relatives help identify WWII soldier's remains
By MIKE JOHNSTON
senior writer
ELLENSBURG Ñ Kittitas Valley residents Tom Rogers and Evelyn Pollock, brother and sister, grew up not knowing much about their long, lost uncle, Ernest "Eddie" Martin.
Yet that all changed when RogersÕ wife, Suzanne, got a phone call in July 2006 from a woman with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary in Lewistown, Mont.
The woman, Alma Phillips, once she established that SuzanneÕs husband was related to Martin, urged her to immediately call a U.S. Army phone number that would connect her to a special Army unit in Hawaii.
The unit specializes in accounting for recovering and identifying remains of U.S. military personnel missing in action or made prisoners of war.
"I didnÕt know what was going on exactly, but she was so assertive and insistent that I had to do it right now," Suzanne said. "I did what I was told."
Suzanne called the number given to her and later connected to personnel with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, or JPAC, at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.
Officials told her they had been looking for family related to Ernest Martin for a long time.
The unit was researching remains found in the dense HŸrtgen Forest of Germany, the site of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II involving advancing U.S. forces and German soldiers dug-in and determined to stop them.
They indicated the remains are likely those of a second lieutenant, one of only two 2nd lieutenants reported missing in the battle area where the remains were found.
One of the missing officers was 2nd Lt. Ernest Edward Martin of Hanover, Mont. He was one of more than 170 U.S. personnel still missing in the overall, HŸrtgen Forest area.
Memories
Before those calls, Tom Rogers, now 63, and Evelyn Pollock, 65, only knew Eddie was the brother of their late mother, Margaret (Martin) Rogers. He was born in Lewistown and was raised in nearby Hanover, Mont.
In old family photos handed down to Tom, Uncle Eddie looked like the classic, fresh-faced, clean cut, all-American kid with a big, engaging smile and bright eyes who was growing up in the West.
In old family photos handed down to Tom, Uncle Eddie looked like the classic, fresh-faced, clean cut, all-American kid with a big, engaging smile and bright eyes who was growing up in the West.
Through the years the story was periodically repeated by family members: Ernest Edward Martin joined the U.S. Army in World War II, was an officer and a paratrooper and mysteriously disappeared in a European battle.
"He was always a part of our family heritage, that he served honorably and made the ultimate sacrifice for his country in time of war, but there just wasnÕt an end to his story, a conclusion," Evelyn of Kittitas said. "He was missing."
EddieÕs parents, Ernest L. and Marie Martin, received official word in late 1944 from the Army that Eddie was missing in action Nov. 10, 1944.
Eddie had only been in Europe a week with the 109th Infantry Regiment-28th Infantry Division when he was reported missing. He was then 24 years old.
The Army declared him dead a year and a day later, Nov. 11, 1945. He was declared "unrecoverable" in 1951.
Yet the phone calls in 2006 and contact later with Army investigative personnel and Lewistown residents have now changed vague information about EddieÕs service into more specifics.
"More importantly, the familyÕs hopes that someday he would be found and his remains returned to the U.S. and to surviving relatives have been realized," said Tom.
Evelyn said the eventual identification of EddieÕs remains and plans for a formal military funeral at 1 p.m. Oct. 11 at the IOOF Cemetery in Ellensburg to honor EddieÕs return has been "quite a journey, a real emotional roller coaster" at times for the family.
"This has brought closure to EddieÕs story and to our family," she said.
Journey
The Army research unit, JPAC, in June 2006 ran out of leads in its effort to confirm the remains were EddieÕs. It needed DNA links.
JPAC put a letter to the editor in the Lewistown newspaper asking anyone with knowledge of Lt. MartinÕs relatives to contact the unit.
Myrt and Jess Richards, former Hanover residents then in their 80s, saw the letter and remembered the Martin family who lived next door to them during World War II.
The couple had memories of twin kids, a boy and girl, from Washington staying for a while in the Martin home, and one with the name Tom Rogers.
Myrt called the VFW in Lewistown and reached auxiliary members Alma Phillips and Marjorie Miller. The two ladies rounded up two other members and went online to get every Tom Rogers phone number in the state of Washington.
They then started calling up each of those Tom Rogers, eventually reaching Suzanne Rogers in Ellensburg in July 2006.
The Army unit mailed DNA test kits to Tom and Evelyn the day after Suzanne made contact with JPAC. It was a simple swab inside the mouth against the cheek and then was mailed back to JPAC. Officials said testing would take a year.
It actually took longer.
In the mean time, the situation brought back to Tom memories of living in Hanover. He called the Richards and learned more of his time in Hanover.
His mother, Margaret (Martin) Rogers, died suddenly in July 1945 in Ellensburg where she and her husband, Lowell Rogers, had settled.
Lowell later made arrangements for Tom and his twin sister, now Cheryl (Rogers) Bonell, to live temporarily with their grandparents, Marie and Ernest L. Martin, in Hanover while TomÕs older sister, now Evelyn (Rogers) Pollock, stayed in Ellensburg.
Grandparents Orville and Ollie Rogers also helped out at times. The twins later rejoined Evelyn and the family in Ellensburg.
Marie Martin died in 1950, and Ernest later moved to Ellensburg where he died in 1959.
"As a little kid I remember playing with Uncle EddieÕs old army cap," Tom said. "IÕve got good memories of my time in Hanover. Down through the years we always remembered our uncle with the thought that he never came home from the war, that they never found him."
Eventually Tom inherited photos of Eddie and his military footlocker. Tom and Evelyn later learned Eddie attended the University of Washington, received a degree in mechanical engineering, was in the Army ROTC there and later was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant.
A match?
In March 2008 a letter from JPAC indicated technicians didnÕt get a match on tested remains.
"It was very disappointing," Evelyn said.
In early August this year Evelyn received a phone message from the U.S. Army in Washington, D.C. After four days of phone tag, she connected with Army officials on Aug. 15. They confirmed the DNA from Evelyn and Tom matched a set of remains of a 2nd lieutenant believed to be Ernest Martin.
"I started crying, I couldnÕt help it," Evelyn said. "I tried to call Tom and got Suzanne. I was so shook up I couldnÕt get the right words out. There was a relief but also a shock."
Tom said he was somewhat in shock himself when he learned of the match.
"ItÕs just incredible to what length they go to fulfill a promise to find our missing military people and bring them back home," Tom said. "TheyÕve bestowed so much honor on Uncle Eddie."
Tom said the sadness comes when he realizes his grandparents, the Martins, endured two deaths: a son missing in action and the passing of their daughter.
"ItÕs also sad they never lived to get closure on the loss of their son," Tom said. "ThereÕs also a sense of pride and honor that our uncle served and sacrificed. We are passing that down to our kids and our grandkids."
Suzanne said Ernest "Eddie" Martin will be buried with full military honors on Oct. 11 at the IOOF Cemetery near his sister, Margaret.
She said the family is very thankful for everyone who has played a part in returning Uncle Eddie.
"WeÕve been told there are still 78,000 missing from World War II, and weÕre quickly losing family connections and memories that can identify them. We hope more are found and brought home and identified.
"As we all get older, time is running out."
Public services set for 2nd Lt. Martin
A graveside military funeral service, open to the public, for U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Ernest "Eddie" Martin is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at the IOOF Cemetery on Brick Road in Ellensburg.
An Army honor guard and other personnel from Fort Lewis will accompany MartinÕs casket from Seattle-Tacoma Airport to Steward & Williams Tribute Center in Ellensburg after it arrives by aircraft from Hawaii, according to local family relatives.
Latest information from military officials indicates the casket may arrive Oct. 8 at the airport and reach Ellensburg later that day. Information will be released later on any other public availability to pay their respects.
It is expected that the military honor guard will stay with the casket around the clock until the conclusion of services on Oct. 11.
MartinÕs remains were found in March 2000 in Germany dating back to a World War II battle.
The U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command in Hawaii later confirmed MartinÕs identity from DNA tests associated with surviving relatives in Ellensburg, dental examinations and remnants of equipment, uniform and rank insignias found with the remains.
Public Services set for 2nd Lt. Martin
A graveside military funeral service, open to the public, for U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Ernest "Eddie" Martin is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at the IOOF Cemetery on Brick Road in Ellensburg.
An Army honor guard and other personnel from Fort Lewis will accompany MartinÕs casket from Seattle-Tacoma Airport to Steward & Williams Tribute Center in Ellensburg after it arrives by aircraft from Hawaii, according to local family relatives.
Latest information from military officials indicates the casket may arrive Oct. 8 at the airport and reach Ellensburg later that day. Information will be released later on any other public availability to pay their respects.
It is expected that the military honor guard will stay with the casket around the clock until the conclusion of services on Oct. 11.
MartinÕs remains were found in March 2000 in Germany dating back to a World War II battle.
The U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command in Hawaii later confirmed MartinÕs identity from DNA tests associated with surviving relatives in Ellensburg, dental examinations and remnants of equipment, uniform and rank insignias found with the remains.