North Adams WWII soldier laid to rest, 82 years after death

NORTH ADAMS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A deceased World War II soldier finally returned home on Tuesday to North Adams. Bernard Joseph Calvi died 82 years ago in the war, but his remains weren't identified until this past September.

Bernard Joseph Calvi was a World War II soldier, remarkable athlete and a loved one to so many. He survived the treacherous 65-mile Bataan Death March after being captured by the Japanese during World War II.

“He loved his family, he loved the city of North Adams," said B.J. Calvi, Bernard's great nephew. "He joined the military so he could go to college."

B.J. Calvi was named after his great uncle and is also the Springfield, Mass. fire commissioner. Bernard died on July 16, 1942, but his remains were just identified in September, and sent back this past Friday. The journey of finding Bernard's remains were all thanks to B.J.

“One day I decided that we needed to do something so I started doing some research on the Bataan Death March," said B.J.

Throughout this research, he found a letter sent to his family in 1942 from former President Franklin Roosevelt. The letter detailed condolences for the loss of Private First Class Calvi.

"In grateful memory of Private First Class Bernard J. Calvi who died in the service of his country in the Southwest Pacific Area, July 16, 1942," said former President Franklin Roosevelt in the letter.

After finding this, and doing large amounts of research, B.J. opened up a case in 2010 to find his great uncle's remains.

“It was very gratifying to know that he was finally coming home," said B.J. "The one regret is that my grandfather and my great uncle didn’t live to see it."

Family and friends gathered on Tuesday to lay Calvi to rest right next to his parents and a few other family members. They held a church mass and then a cemetery ceremony, all to honor Calvi's memory. Calvi's remains were also in the casket, alongside his old baseball glove from high school.

“He was a catcher for the Drury baseball team," said B.J. "My grandfather kept that until he died and my father had it and we thought it was fitting to bury it with him."

PFC Calvi died after being held captive by the Japanese for about four months. He died from a combination of starvation, malaria and something else.

“Loss of hope is what his death certificate said at the time. So it was a true tragedy,” said B.J.

However, hope filled many faces at the ceremony on Tuesday as they proudly remembered their hometown hero.

"He's a true American hero," said B.J.