GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — On Friday, the remains of Ell Simantz, a World War II soldier from Grand Haven, were laid to rest. His homecoming came exactly 85 years to the day after he was deployed on Oct. 17, 1940.
Simantz was a member of Michigan’s National Guard when his unit was mobilized on Oct. 15, 1940. He served as a U.S. Army technician. First stationed in Kentucky, he and the rest of the 32nd Division were shipped to the Southwest Pacific theater in April 1942. Simantz was killed during a battle in Papua, New Guinea, on Dec. 19, 1942. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
WATCH: WWII soldier from Grand Haven laid to rest 85 years later
Postwar recovery efforts were unsuccessful in locating Simantz’s remains. He was first buried in New Guinea, then moved to the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines, where his name appears on the Walls of the Missing. In 2017, he was moved again — this time to an Air Force base in Nebraska — where scientists with the Defense Department could conduct new DNA testing.
Simantz was identified, and his remains were brought back to western Michigan in early October, fulfilling a long-awaited wish for his niece, Carole Vanderstelt.
“I’ve had so many mixed emotions. I’m happy that he’s back here and that they found him,” Vanderstelt said.
She said that after both of Simantz’s parents died, he and her father cared for their four younger sisters.
While Simantz was deployed, the brothers maintained their bond through letters, many of which Vanderstelt still has.
Many of the letters show they exchanged cards and gifts for Christmas, and he wrote that he missed the snow, she said.
In his final letter, Simantz wished his brother a Merry Christmas and expressed hope that he would see his family soon.
“They were very close. I’m sure they were very good friends because that’s all they had — they didn’t have parents,” Vanderstelt said.
Friday’s funeral included military honors with the playing of taps and a 21‑gun salute. Vanderstelt chose to bury her uncle close to family at Historic Cemetery in Grand Haven Township.
“I didn’t put him in a military cemetery; I just wanted him home because he was missing for so long,” Vanderstelt said. “I wish my dad would know, you know.”
For Vanderstelt, the experience has come full circle: the man she had only heard stories about as a little girl is finally home.
“It feels great. I’m so happy,” Vanderstelt said.
