'Hometown hero': World War II soldier's remains return to South Texas after 77 years
Sitting in his travel trailer in 2018, Larry Mayfield received a phone call on his cellular device from an unfamiliar number.
He normally rejects or ignores calls he doesn't recognize, but this one was from Fort Knox, Kentucky.
"Something told me to answer it," Mayfield said. "A woman told me she was from a department called the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and said she thinks she found the remains of my uncle."
More than 72,000 military personnel remain unidentified from World War II, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
Mayfield's uncle, Sgt. Herald Ray Boyd, flew for the U.S. Army Air Forces in the 350th Bombardment Squadron, 100th Bombardment Group. The Sinton native was shot down in Germany in February 1945.
"I never knew him because he died before I was born," Mayfield said. "He was just a picture that hung on our wall all my life. He was Uncle Ray who got killed in the war."
On Friday, about four years after the phone call, Mayfield and members of his family gathered at the Corpus Christi International Airport tarmac and scanned the sky. A plane was on its way to bring Boyd's remains home.
When the Southwest Airlines plane landed at 5:30 p.m., it was welcomed with a water salute, an airport tradition to honor veterans.
"He's a hometown hero in Sinton that no one has ever known," Mayfield said. "His name is on a monument at the courthouse, but that's it. At the old high school in Sinton, there was an oak tree with a plaque dedicated to him, but no one knew who he was — I didn't."
Fallen soldier
Boyd was serving as a gunner on the B-17G Flying Fortress bomber, which was part of a large mission to bomb the Tempelhof marshalling yard in Berlin.
Just after dropping bombs, his plane was struck by an anti-aircraft rocket in the right wing, setting it on fire, according to the agency. In an attempt to put the fire out, the pilot dove but the aircraft rolled out of control.
"I have the coordinates," Mayfield said. "I can go to Berlin right now and stand on the street corner he crashed at."
Seven crew members died. Two parachuted out, but were then captured and became prisoners of war.
German forces recovered the remains of the seven dead and buried them in a cemetery in Döberitz, Germany. Six of the seven missing crew members were identified by 1956.
Closure for the family
In 2019, the representative of the agency told Mayfield she was still working on his case and could not guarantee anything at the moment.
The next year, Mayfield and two of his cousins gave the agency DNA samples. That is what helped in the long run, Mayfield said.
It wasn't until July this year that Mayfield got a call saying his uncle was identified. Arrangements to bring his remains home from Germany began immediately.
After the plane with Boyd's remains arrived, members from the funeral honors team of Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio loaded Boyd's coffin into a hearse. Onlookers laid their hands across their chests or held each other for comfort.
Kelly Wood, a casualty assistance officer from Fort Sam Houston, presented dog tags to Mayfield with his uncle's name on them.
After Boyd's remains were driven away, Mayfield said the whole experience has been "a trip."
"We still got Monday to finish it, but that will be the best day because he'll be in his final resting place," Mayfield said.
Ram Chavez, director of the Veterans Band of Corpus Christi, said his musical group will not be performing at Boyd's funeral Monday, but individual members will attend. He said knowing Boyd's body returned to his family makes him proud of his country.
"His family can finally get closure," Chavez said. "It warms my heart to hear a veteran has been recovered because it brings them closer to their family."
Mayfield said even though "not a whole lot" of his uncle returned, it's a relief to him.
"If my mom, uncle and grandmother were still alive, it would be a blessing and relief to them too," Mayfield said. "I hope that because this happened to my family, someone else out there is still holding onto hope that maybe their uncle and granddad will come home one day too."
The funeral will take place at 1 p.m. Monday at the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery at 9974 I-37 in Corpus Christi.
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John Oliva covers entertainment and community news in South Texas. Contact him at john.oliva@caller.com or Twitter @johnpoliva.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: World War II soldier's remains return home after 77 years
