Aunt Florie is crying somewhere

John Wilderman was 9 years old before he understood he had a cousin who died in World War II...


...1st Lt. Joseph J. Auld, who was reported missing after his plane went down in the jungles of Burma in 1944...(he was John's Aunt Florie's Son, who she never got over losing)

..."Not knowing is torture by any definition," Wilderman said of his beloved Aunt Florie, who he said died of a broken heart years later.

The search, however, never stopped. Thanks to the commitment of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, the military recently found the missing plane and its crew...




"The rhythmic clopping of the horse hooves, the soft rapping of the drums and the precision of the soldiers. It was the most humbling and rewarding thing I will ever experience."

After a gun salute and the playing of "Taps," a soldier on bent knee offered the burial flag to John's sister, whispering, "We send to you our deepest condolences at the death of your loved one. No one else can truly comprehend the feeling of loss, but please know that a grateful nation appreciates the service of Lieutenant Auld to his country in time of war."

And somewhere, Aunt Florie cried...

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