Remains of WW2 Veteran returned to Elgin after more than 80 years

ELGIN, Texas – It was a homecoming more than 80 years in the making on Saturday in Elgin.

Family and service members gathered to finally lay to rest 1st Lt. Woody T. Owen, an Army Air Corps Veteran whose remains were unidentified for decades.

WWII funeral in Elgin

Woody Owen joined the US Army Air Corps in February 1941. He was assigned to the 16th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group, which was deployed to the Philippines in October 1941. 

In April 1942, U.S. and Filipino forces surrendered in the Bataan Peninsula. 

Owen became a Japanese prisoner of war for almost three years. In 1945, reports show that Woody was in the forward hold of the Japanese freighter Enoura Maru when it made port at Takao, Formosa (now Taiwan).  

Unaware that American prisoners were onboard, U.S. bombers targeted the freighters in the harbor, with the Enoura Maru taking a direct hit on the forward hold. 

Owen’s remains were buried on the beach in a mass grave, which was exhumed after the war ended. Since the remains were unidentifiable, they were placed in graves marked unknown.

Family gathers for ceremony

What they’re saying:

“It’s been a really exciting time and made him come alive for a lot of people,” says Nelda Spates, Owen’s half-sister.

Spates was about five years old when her half-brother Woody was killed. She recalls the lifelong toll it had on their mother, Mary Alice.

“All I remember is the fact our mother cried almost every day for the rest of our lives because she missed this boy.”

Mother searched for answers

But Mary Alice never gave up hope of seeing her son’s remains return home. For years, she worked she looked for answers and for decades the family was unsure of what may have happened to Woody’s remains. 

That was until they were contacted by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, which had made it their mission to return missing personnel to their families. At first, the family thought it may have been a scam but eventually decided to submit DNA to the agency.

“Maybe they have something and that maybe is probably worth giving it a shot and taking,” says Monica Followell, the great-niece of Woody.

New DNA technology

DNA submitted by three of Woody’s nephews was a 100% match on his father’s side. DNA submitted by his half-sister Nelda, also came back with a 100% match on her mother’s side. His identity was fully confirmed on June 30th, 2025 and the DPAA quickly got to work to return Woody’s remains.

Last Thursday his remains were flown into ABIA with a hero’s welcome. Hoses washed over the plane as family and service members waited on the tarmac to receive his flag-draped casket.

On Saturday, Owen was laid to rest with full military honors. Family members recalled his life and legacy, reading letters the Elgin native had sent from overseas to his mother, Mary Alice. A military honor guard honored Lt. Owen with a 21 gun salute, followed by a final bugle call of “Taps.”

“Goosebumps, I mean, it’s goosebumps. It just brings our family a lot of peace as well as hope with what the United States will do for those who’ve given up everything. He was only twenty-five years old when he gave his life,” says Owen’s great-niece Monica.

Finally laid to rest

25-year-old Owen was buried next to his mother Mary Alice, who for years had worked to see her son return home. The two are now united after more than eighty years apart.

“I just feel happy, that so many people are here and that they’re all here to celebrate his life even as short as it was,” says Spates.