HASTINGS, Fla. — A WWII soldier missing in action for decades is finally getting the proper burial he deserves.
Action News Jax’s Madison Foglio spoke with his niece about what this moment means to her family.
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After his remains were missing for over 80 years, the Dupont family is excited to bring Lt. j.g. Ralph Dupont back to Florida to be laid to rest.
“I was eight months old when Uncle Ralph died,” said Mary Ellen Masters, Lt. j.g. Dupont’s niece.
Born and raised in Florida, Ralph Dupont joined the U.S. Navy and served in Fighter Squadron 18. On October 12th, 1944, Dupont, then a Lieutenant Junior Grade, was just 21 years old. He was piloting an F6F-5 Hellcat during a strike against modern-day Taiwan. It’s believed his plane was shot down, and he was eventually declared non-recoverable.
“Our grandmother went to her grave thinking that he was going to come walking up the driveway one day because she never had any closure about his death,” said Masters.
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For the past 10 years, the Dupont family has been working tirelessly to get Lt. J.G. Dupont’s remains identified. It wasn’t until June of this year that his family finally got the call they’d been waiting decades for.
“We can’t believe it,” said Masters. “After 81 years, I mean, it seems like it was impossible. So everybody is in a total state of elation over this.”
Lt. j.g. Dupont will be laid to rest next to his parents at Pellicer Creek Cemetery in Hastings on Sunday at 2 p.m. October 12th with full military honors. The date marks exactly 81 years since he was killed.
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