GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The remains of a World War II soldier from Grand Rapids are back home nearly a century after he was killed in action.
Private First Class Willard Brinks was killed in 1942, assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. Until now, his remains were unidentified.
"It kind of closes an era for us all," says Dale Guikema, Brinks's nephew. "We just didn't realize that this was possible. We just thought he was gone."
Guikema was born two years before his uncle was killed in action, serving in the Army in present day Papua New Guinea.
For nearly a century, Guikema and the rest of his family were left in uncertainty.
"It was this question mark," says Beth Rodenhouse, Guikema's daughter.
So when the Army called to say they had identified Brinks, they couldn't believe it.
"They did blood tests of cousins and other things like that," says Guikema. "They were very careful."
A question finally answered, unfortunately too late for most of Brinks's family.
"His brothers would have loved to have been here for that because they were close," says Guikema.
But now, he's finally back with them, interred near his parents. Garfield Park Cemetery cleared space for Brinks in an area that was normally a walking path.
"They made room because they knew it was important that the family could be together even in that way," says Rodenhouse.
Together again, a calming presence for his remaining relatives.
"It gives, I think, all of us a sense of peace that he's really at rest," says Rodenhouse.
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