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Weird Stuff/Unexplained Title: Local WWII veteran’s remains recovered more than 70 years later, in a tree A sad reunion that was decades in the making. “They loved each other as brothers and friends,” Doug Louvier said. It’s a story of two best friends who grew up together in the Rainier Valley. “They both enlisted together and went to war,” Jan Bradshaw said. Jan Bradshaw’s father, First Lt. Jim Louvier, came back from World War II. First Lt. Bill Gray did not.
“They think he took some enemy fire,” Bradshaw said. Bill’s plane crashed in Germany in April 1945. Since then, time has stood still with Bill’s remains unfound. “I never expected him to be returned,” Bradshaw said. The only tangible memory are the more than 100 letters Bill wrote during the war. “The last letter said he had done 68 missions,” Bradshaw said. But now they can add closure to these chapters. More than 70 years later, family members learned that Bill’s bones were still giving life to a tree at the crash site. “The bones that they found were embedded in the tree,” Bradshaw said. “It grew over his remains and really protected and marked the spot,” Louvier said. Family members say Army crews nearby investigating another case stumbled upon Bill’s site after two witnesses of the crash decades ago alerted crews of what happened in Bill’s crash. In 2016, crews started excavating the forested location, going through every inch of dirt looking for any clues. After 15 days of excavating, Bradshaw says, crews made the astounding discovery in the root of the tree. Advances in science helped match Bill’s DNA to his two sisters allowing the war hero to finally come home on Wednesday. “I wish my dad was here to see this, to see Bill come home,” Bradshaw said. At the age of 89, Jim died in 2010. But long before that he kept his promise to his best friend. “If one doesn’t come back we are committed to taking care of the other's family,” Bradshaw said. Keeping his word, Jim married Bill’s sister, who is Bradshaw’s mom. “I know he loved her dearly and committed to her for 64 years before he died,” Bradshaw said. But the family could never settle on where to bury Jim’s ashes. “We couldn’t decide what to do and now we know why,” Bradshaw said. Because the two best friends were meant to be -- side by side in their final resting place at Tahoma National Cemetery. The two men were given a military burial with honors. “I think they are having a cold drink up there smacking their glass together and saying we are finally back together,” Louvier said.
“They think he took some enemy fire,” Bradshaw said. Bill’s plane crashed in Germany in April 1945. Since then, time has stood still with Bill’s remains unfound. “I never expected him to be returned,” Bradshaw said. The only tangible memory are the more than 100 letters Bill wrote during the war. “The last letter said he had done 68 missions,” Bradshaw said. But now they can add closure to these chapters. More than 70 years later, family members learned that Bill’s bones were still giving life to a tree at the crash site. “The bones that they found were embedded in the tree,” Bradshaw said. “It grew over his remains and really protected and marked the spot,” Louvier said. Family members say Army crews nearby investigating another case stumbled upon Bill’s site after two witnesses of the crash decades ago alerted crews of what happened in Bill’s crash. In 2016, crews started excavating the forested location, going through every inch of dirt looking for any clues. After 15 days of excavating, Bradshaw says, crews made the astounding discovery in the root of the tree. Advances in science helped match Bill’s DNA to his two sisters allowing the war hero to finally come home on Wednesday. “I wish my dad was here to see this, to see Bill come home,” Bradshaw said. At the age of 89, Jim died in 2010. But long before that he kept his promise to his best friend. “If one doesn’t come back we are committed to taking care of the other's family,” Bradshaw said. Keeping his word, Jim married Bill’s sister, who is Bradshaw’s mom. “I know he loved her dearly and committed to her for 64 years before he died,” Bradshaw said. But the family could never settle on where to bury Jim’s ashes. “We couldn’t decide what to do and now we know why,” Bradshaw said. Because the two best friends were meant to be -- side by side in their final resting place at Tahoma National Cemetery. The two men were given a military burial with honors. “I think they are having a cold drink up there smacking their glass together and saying we are finally back together,” Louvier said. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 6. Why do you double-post these articles? It defaces the forum. Between you and Boris, you make the forum look like a hangout for total retards.
#2. To: Tooconservative (#1) Why do you double-post these articles? It defaces the forum. Lighten up,Lucille! So a few bytes had to sent to the front lines to die early. Big deal.
#3. To: sneakypete (#2) Maybe it's you who should lighten up, Gertie. I actually read articles. It is very annoying to notice that the article has started over from the beginning and have to determine whether I actually read it all or if there was some portion elsewhere, at the end. And I've noticed you're a skimmer of articles and seem at times to read nothing but the title. So why the hell do you even care either way since you don't read most articles you comment on anyway?
#4. To: Tooconservative (#3) I actually read articles. It is very annoying to notice that the article has started over from the beginning and have to determine whether I actually read it all or if there was some portion elsewhere, at the end. I now understand what a difficult thing it can be for you to recognize a sentence or a paragraph you just read 15 seconds earlier,and apologize. Most of us don't have that problem.
#5. To: sneakypete (#4) Most of us don't have that problem. Because most of you don't bother to ever read an article anyway. Some people can't even read the first sentence. Just last week, someone I won't name asked a question about the article which was succinctly and clearly explained in the very first sentence of the article. I've begun to think a majority reads nothing but the title of the link and, at most, lightly skim the article. But if the articles aren't important enough to read, why post them? Why, indeed, comment on them at all?
#6. To: Tooconservative (#5) But if the articles aren't important enough to read, why post them? Why, indeed, comment on them at all? This is a political web site,and most posters claim to be conservatives/right-wingers. Because of this most new threads are about politics and how corrupt and evil Dims are. Lots of political rhetoric and not many facts other than those laid out at the top of the story. IF you are going to pick out anything new to comment on,chances are it's at the top of the story. If this were DU,it would be the same,but the posts would be about "evil Republicans that want to starve endangered chil-runs to death." It's just the nature of partisan politics.
Replies to Comment # 6. cranky does this regularly and has for some time now. And this isn't a political story at all. It's just a local news story on a returned WW II vet's remains. So you're not explaining cranky's habit away very well.
#8. To: sneakypete (#6) This is a political web site,and most posters claim to be conservatives/right-wingers. Because of this most new threads are about politics and how corrupt and evil Dims are. Lots of political rhetoric and not many facts other than those laid out at the top of the story. Bullshit. I am a libertarian and I loathe both Republicans and their masters, the Democrats.
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