Remains of a World War II Massachusetts pilot identified as a prisoner of war 82 years after his death

The remains of a Massachusetts pilot who died as a prisoner of war during World War II have been found, military officials said Wednesday.

U.S. Army Air Forces Pvt. 1st Class Bernard J. Calvi, 23, was a member of the 17th Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group when Japanese forces invaded the Philippines in December 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release. Fierce fighting followed and lasted until the surrender of Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island in the spring of 1942.

During that period, thousands of American and Philippine military personnel were captured and held in prisoner of war camps, the DPAA said. Calvi was among those reportedly captured then troops in Bataan surrendered. He and thousands of others were subjected to the 65 miles Bataan Death March and then held at a prisoner of war camp where 2,500 prisoners died during the course of the war.

Calvi died, according to prison and historical records, on July 16, 1942, just months after the surrender of the peninsula. He was buried in a mass grave known as Communal Grave 316.

That grave and others in the camp were excavated by the American Graves Registration Service after the end of World War II. The remains of the graves were taken to a temporary American military mausoleum built in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

In 1947, the agency attempted to identify the remains. Eleven sets of remains from Communal Grave 316 were identified and the remaining 17 were declared unidentifiable. Those unidentified remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial as Unknowns. Calvi’s name, along with the names of other soldiers declared dead, was carved into the Walls of the Missing in the cemetery.

In April 2019, the DPAA began efforts to identify the unknowns from common grave 316. The 17 sets of remains were exhumed and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis. Scientists used multiple techniques, including dental and anthropological analysis, mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA analysis, and historical evidence. On September 16, they identified the remains as those of Calvi.

Before enlisting in the army, Calvi had been a notable athlete. He played varsity baseball and football at his high school in Massachusetts, according to archival news clippings shared by the DPAA. Before his capture, Calvi was wounded at least once in action, but returned to active duty after recovering in a hospital in the Philippines. He is survived by his parents, two brothers, several aunts and uncles, and a cousin.

Calvi will be buried on December 9, 2024 in his hometown of North Adams, Massachusetts. A rosette will be placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing to indicate that it has been taken into account.