This WWII veteran will be laid to rest after being MIA for 72 years
The remains of a World War II veteran - who left the U.S. to serve his country 72 years ago - have been exhumed from an anonymous grave at the United States Military Cemetery in Neuville-en-Condroz, in Belgium, and brought back to the family and land that he died to protect.
Army Private John P. Sersha will be buried in his hometown of Eveleth, Minnesota today with full military honors -- just in time for Memorial Day.
A railroad worker, John P. Sersha, was drafted into the military in 1943 and inducted into the Army at Fort Snelling later that year. He received his training in Texas, and then joined the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, Company F, of the 82nd Airborne Division in Maryland.
On September 23, 1944, he and his company landed in Holland during Operation Market Garden - the unsuccessful mission where the Allies attempted to capture several strategically important bridges in the Netherlands. He had been entrenched in Kiekberg Forest with his company for just four days when he and two other 'bazooka men' were sent on an assault mission behind enemy lines. They were never seen again.
Fields of Honor - a website that gives a face to the names of the U.S. WWII soldiers buried in Belgium and the Netherlands - posted this account in its database:
Private Sersha among its ranks first saw battle when it landed near Nijmegen on 23 September 1944. Operation Market Garden had been launched on the 17th, but it took till the 23rd when the elements of the 325th were sent to Holland to join in the battle. The 325th was inserted in the frontline south east of Nijmegen, in the forest-covered hills and valleys facing the Reichwald. Between 27 and 30 September, the 325th was involved in the Battle for Kiekberg Forest. The area was full of steep hills and valleys. Opposing the 325th was the German 190th "Hammer" Infantry Division. Men of this division had infiltrated the forest and were building up in order to attack towards Nijmegen. Private Sersha was MIA during the fighting in the Kiekberg Forest.
Sersha's family spent decades looking for closure. Three years after the war ended, the remains of two soldiers were discovered in Keikberg Woods by a local woodsman. One of the bodies was identified - and while the other was thought to be that of Pvt. Sersha, the American Graves Registration Command could not 100 percent confirm this and thus did not inform the surviving family. They laid the body in an anonymous grave marked: X7429, and Sersha's name was later inscribed - along with 1721 others - on the Netherlands Wall of the Missing.
In the 1980's Sersha's brother Paul - now 97 years old - searched for those who could possibly shed light on the last months of his presumably deceased brother's life. He was able to track down a paratrooper with whom he served, but no new information came of the connection.
In 2005, Sersha's nephew Richard Lohry picked up the quest. According to his interview with Fayetteville Observer, he was only 11 months old when his uncle had disappeared behind enemy lines, but still wanted to learn more about his Uncle John. His grandmother kept a photo of her son in her home. "I was drawn to that photo for years and years," Lohry told the paper.
In an effort to preserve and honor his life, Lohry, a pastor, began collecting whatever he could find on his uncle, which was very little information. Finally, a couple who attended his church found a photo that had taken in 1994 while visiting the Netherlands American Cemetery. It just so happened to be the exact panel that bore his uncle's name. Inspired by that photo of the wall, he gave a sermon that Memorial Day titled: "God Never Forgets". Lohry had renewed hope in his search.
Memorial Stone in honor of Pvt. John Sersha placed in Virginia, Minnesota
In 2013, a memorial stone sponsored by Sersha's family was placed in Virginia, Minnesota near the family home. The installation ceremony caught the media's attention. One day later, a family member received a call from Germany. Army sergeant Danny Keay, tracked down the relative from an article he had read online. According to Timberjay.com, Keay had put together information from Sersha's "Individual Deceased Personnel File" with information from a file of a set of unknown remains. That bit of information was a big first step in a lengthy, but rewarding process in determining who this unknown soldier was.
Two years later, after completing a slew of paperwork that included matching dental records and solving a height discrepancy - Lohry, with the help of U.S. Representative Rick Nolan, requested that the Secretary of the Army grant permission to exhume the body in grave marked "X7429." Nine months later, the request was approved. On December 16, 2015, the body was exhumed and flown to Offutt Air Base. They conducted series of lab tests including matching the DNA of Sersha's brother Paul and Lohry, his nephew.
This final step would serve to cross one name off the long list of the missing. The results were clear. The remains of John Sersha - an uncle, a brother , and a son - that were missing for 72 years could make a final journey home.
On Jan. 4, 2016, that World War II Veteran's tireless nephew now had the honor of delivering the investigation results. Mesabi Daily News published part of Lohry's letter. He wrote:
".... this is great news. My first contact with you was in April of 2013. By then, I had already been working on a history of John's military services since spring of 2005. And it was not until November of 2013 that we even knew that John's remains may have been found back n 1948. It's been a long road indeed, and now I am happy to say:
John: You haven't been forgotten — we're coming to bring you home!
On May 24, 2016, members of the Minnesota Army National Guard's Honor Guard received the flag-draped casket during planeside honors. Members of Sersha's family, including his 97-year-old brother, Paul was there for the emotional moment.
According to Star Tribune, visitation for John Sersha is scheduled on Friday, May 28th 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Bauman Family Funeral Home, 516 1st St. S., Virginia, Minnesota with services to follow starting at 11 a.m. Saturday at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 306 2nd St. S., Virginia, Minnesota.
To share condolences online, please see: www.baumanfuneralhome.com.
Sersha is survived by siblings Paul Sersha, of Virginia, and Julia Trunzo, of nearby Mountain Iron. Three sisters, including Lohry's mother, Mary Pecher, and a brother are deceased.
Editor's note: Operation Market Garden is the subject of the 1977 film: A Bridge Too Far with Sean Connery and Michael Cain.
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