KENT COUNTY, Mich. — Fourth generation U.S. Military Veteran Bob Buys has finally welcomed home the remains of his great uncle, Sergeant James W. Swartz, who died in 1942 after being held captive in the Philippines.
According to Buys, Sergeant Swartz's body was identified in November 2024 after 83 years of searching for his remains. "He'd been identified November of 2024, and his funeral was May 3 of this year in Fowlerville," Buys said.
Sergeant Swartz enlisted in 1939 in the Army Air Corps. According to the Department of Defense records Buys shared with FOX 17, Sergeant Swartz died on September 23, 1942 of dysentery and malnutrition while in a prison camp. "According to what I've heard, he was shot down in the Philippines, survived the plane crash, was captured by the Japanese, and then forced to walk in this Bataan Death March," Buys said.
For decades, Sergeant Swartz's family, including Buys, had no closure. So in 1956, Swartz's mother wrote to the Department of Defense seeking answers. "Dear Sirs, would you please let me know if there's any kind of cemetery or burial grounds for the boys who died in World War II in the Japanese prison camp?" she wrote in the letter.
Because Sergeant Swartz was buried in a mass grave, there was no way to identify his body until Buys received a letter from the Department of Defense in 2017 requesting a DNA sample. "It makes me proud that my small effort to give my DNA is what allowed them to identify his body," Buys said.
Now that Sergeant Swartz has been properly laid to rest on American soil, Buys has connected with Swartz's great-granddaughter. "A family reunion is in the works, yes... all to celebrate James Swartz's return," Buys said.
For Buys, his great uncle's homecoming is a continual reminder to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
"People that have sacrificed that much, thank you doesn't seem to be enough," Buys said. "But as our actions, as we continue on, we need to remember those people very well."
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