After 84 years, an Arkansas soldier who survived one of the darkest chapters of World War II has finally returned home.
Corporal Delmor W. Erwin, a Jackson County serviceman from Newport, was just 20 years old when he died as a prisoner of war in the Philippines on November 26, 1942.
On Thursday, October 15, 2026, family members and fellow Americans gathered at Geyer Springs First Baptist Church in Little Rock to honor the young soldier whose remains were finally identified after more than 8 decades.
Erwin survived the infamous Bataan Death March, endured imprisonment in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp and died from malaria before he could return to his family in Arkansas.
His long-awaited homecoming brings an extraordinary chapter of Arkansas military history to a close.
AN ARKANSAS FARM BOY WHO ANSWERED HIS COUNTRY’S CALL
Delmor W. Erwin was born January 7, 1922, and grew up with family ties to Newport and Oil Trough in Jackson County.
He was the son of Jim Monroe and Betty Erwin.
At just 18 years old, Erwin enlisted in the United States military, leaving behind his family and the rural Arkansas community where he had grown up.
His great-niece, Cheryl Franks, told Little Rock television station KATV that her mother, Helen Duncan, never forgot the day her uncle left home.
Duncan was only 10 years old when Erwin joined the Army.
She remembered watching him walk down a gravel road between cotton fields before turning to wave goodbye.
It was a final memory that remained with the family for generations.
Relatives remembered Erwin as a young man who helped children with their schoolwork, played games and enjoyed practical jokes.
But the young Arkansan’s life would soon be overtaken by a world war.
CAPTURED DURING THE FALL OF BATAAN IN 1942
Erwin served with the 31st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines as Japanese forces launched their offensive in December 1941.
American and Filipino troops fought for months against overwhelming Japanese forces.
On April 9, 1942, American and Filipino defenders on the Bataan Peninsula surrendered.
Thousands of service members were taken prisoner.
Erwin was among them.
Following the surrender, Japanese forces compelled prisoners to march approximately 65 miles under brutal conditions.
The ordeal became known as the Bataan Death March.
Prisoners suffered from exhaustion, disease, starvation, dehydration and mistreatment. Thousands died during the march and its aftermath.
Erwin survived the ordeal.
However, his suffering was far from over.
SURVIVED THE DEATH MARCH BUT DIED IN A JAPANESE PRISON CAMP
After surviving the Bataan Death March, Erwin was imprisoned at Cabanatuan Prisoner of War Camp Number 1 in the Philippines.
Conditions inside the camp were devastating.
Prisoners endured inadequate food, dangerous sanitation conditions, disease and widespread suffering.
On November 26, 1942, Corporal Delmor W. Erwin died of malaria.
He was only 20 years old.
His remains were buried in a common grave with other American prisoners of war.
For decades, his family knew he had died while serving his country, but they were unable to bring him home for burial.
DNA TECHNOLOGY HELPS IDENTIFY ARKANSAS SOLDIER AFTER 84 YEARS
More than 8 decades after his death, advances in forensic science and DNA testing helped bring answers to Erwin’s surviving relatives.
Beginning approximately a decade ago, the United States Army sought DNA samples from family members to assist with identifying his remains.
Several relatives participated in the identification effort.
Among them were his nieces Helen Duncan and Betty Floyd, along with nephew Jim Erwin and great-niece Reva Duncan Bushatz.
Sadly, Helen Duncan and Betty Floyd died before the identification was completed.
On March 25, 2026, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency officially accounted for Corporal Erwin.
The identification was announced publicly on April 21, 2026.
The breakthrough finally made it possible to return the young soldier’s remains to Arkansas.
FALLEN SOLDIER RETURNS TO ARKANSAS OCTOBER 9
On Friday, October 9, 2026, Erwin’s remains arrived at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock.
Arkansas Army National Guard Military Funeral Honors personnel participated in a dignified transfer of his flag-draped casket.
Arkansas State Police and Patriot Guard Riders helped escort his remains from the airport to Roller-Chenal Funeral Home.
American flags and military honors marked the return of a soldier who had been missing from home since World War II.
The homecoming represented the fulfillment of a promise that his family had waited generations to see.
EMOTIONAL MEMORIAL SERVICE HELD OCTOBER 15 IN LITTLE ROCK
On Thursday, October 15, family members, veterans and community members gathered at Geyer Springs First Baptist Church in Little Rock to pay their respects.
The memorial service began at 2 PM, following an afternoon visitation.
Full military honors were part of the ceremony.
Relatives shared memories passed down through generations about the young soldier who left Arkansas to serve his country.
His nephew, Jim Erwin, spoke about the importance his family placed on remembering Delmor and his sacrifice.
Erwin’s great-niece, Cheryl Franks, also reflected on how much the homecoming would have meant to her late mother.
For the family, the ceremony marked more than the return of a fallen soldier.
It represented the end of an 84-year wait.
SILVER STAR, BRONZE STARS AND PURPLE HEART RECOGNIZE HIS SERVICE
During the memorial service, Erwin’s family received military decorations recognizing his service and sacrifice.
Reported honors included the Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars and Purple Heart.
The Purple Heart recognizes service members wounded or killed as a result of enemy action, while the Silver Star recognizes gallantry in combat.
The decorations serve as lasting reminders of the young Arkansas soldier’s military service during World War II.
FINAL RESTING PLACE IN SHIRLEY, ARKANSAS
Corporal Delmor W. Erwin was buried in Settlement Cemetery in Shirley (Van Buren County) because his parents, siblings, and immediate family members migrated and established deep ties there later in life.
While Cpl. Erwin grew up and enlisted from Jackson County, his parents (Jim Monroe and Betty Erwin) and siblings have all since passed away. The subsequent generations of his family who survived him, kept his memory alive, and ultimately provided the DNA samples to the military to bring him home choose to lay him to rest alongside his family’s final resting plots in Van Buren County.
According to information released by the United States Army Human Resources Command, Erwin’s final interment was scheduled for October 15 at Settlement Cemetery in Shirley, Arkansas, in Van Buren County.
The service and arrangements were coordinated through Roller-Chenal Funeral Home.
The final resting place brings Corporal Erwin back to the state where his life began.
After decades of uncertainty, his family finally has the opportunity to honor him on Arkansas soil.
REMEMBERING THE ARKANSAS SOLDIERS WHO NEVER CAME HOME
Corporal Delmor W. Erwin’s story reflects the sacrifice of thousands of American and Filipino service members who endured the Bataan Death March and the horrors of Japanese prisoner-of-war camps.
Many never returned home.
Others remained unidentified for decades, leaving families without answers about their final resting places.
The work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to identify missing American service members and return their remains to their families whenever possible.
For Erwin’s surviving relatives, the wait lasted 84 years.
A young man who walked away from an Arkansas farm in 1940 has finally come home.
Corporal Delmor W. Erwin — January 7, 1922, to November 26, 1942.
His sacrifice will not be forgotten.
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