Son 'amazed' at discovery of Wappingers World War II soldier

John W. Barry | Poughkeepsie Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Son reacts to discovery of father's remains Tom Schindler, 74, was 7 months old when his father, Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Eugene J. Darrigan of Wappingers Falls, was killed while serving in World War II. But his remains were recently discovered. Video by Jack Howland/Poughkeepsie Journal

Tom Schindler was charging his golf cart in Longs, South Carolina, on Saturday morning when the telephone rang.

Though he missed the call from his cousin, Ginny Pineiro of Rhinebeck, Schindler called her back.

“She said, ‘They’ve located your dad’s remains,’ ” Schindler said.

Schindler, 74, was 7 months old when his father, Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Eugene J. Darrigan of Wappingers Falls, was killed while serving in World War II.

At age 26, Darrigan was the radio operator aboard a B-24 bomber nicknamed Heaven Can Wait. On March 11, 1944, the plane was struck by Japanese anti-aircraft fire during a mission over Wewak, New Guinea. It plunged into the Pacific Ocean.

“He was a hero,” Schindler said.

The wreck could not be located, and Darrigan’s family was informed that the staff sergeant was killed. He became the first soldier from Wappingers Falls reported as killed in action during World War II, according to Journal archives.

But, the wreck, and the 11 soldiers who were inside the plane, were recently discovered.

Eugene Darrigan news: Remains from World War II discovered

On Saturday morning, after walking her dog, Pineiro sat down on her living room sofa with a glass of orange juice to read the Poughkeepsie Journal. The headline on the front page called out to her: “WWII flier’s remains found: Darrigan was war’s 1st Wappinger casualty.”

“I started to cry,” said Pineiro, 78.

Darrigan was Pineiro’s uncle and godfather. She made it through half the story before calling her cousin.

Schindler struggled to capture his emotions in words, two days before the Memorial Day holiday.

“I don’t know,” said Schindler, a South Carolina resident who is retired from the insurance industry. “It’s kind of hard to describe. I’m kind of amazed that it happened, to tell you the truth.”

Adding depth to an already emotional story is the fact that Schindler only discovered that Pineiro was his cousin about three years ago. His wife enjoys genealogy research and, after examining her own family’s history, analyzed Schindler’s lineage.

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“I think fate is a good word to use,” he said.

Wappingers Falls Mayor Matt Alexander said the village is a tight-knit community and "it feels like a family member was lost and is found." He has invited Schindler to a ceremony later in the year to commemorate his father and his service, noting it could fall on a holiday like National POW/MIA Recognition Day in September.

"I was very excited," he said, "to find out this family got to get some resolution."

Darrigan was a member of the W.T. Garner Engine Co. in Wappingers Falls. A plaque bearing his name still rests on the back of the brick building.

He enlisted in the Army on Nov. 21, 1942, and spent four months in the South Pacific before he was killed. He was survived by his wife, Florence Darrigan, and his son, and awarded the Purple Heart and the Air Medal.

Decades passed. Then, in October, the wreck was found at the bottom of a bay off the coast of Papua, New Guinea.

The findings are being turned over to the Department of Defense’s POW/MIA Accounting Agency, which seeks to recover remains of MIAs. And Darrigan’s story serves as a reminder of Dutchess County’s deep connections to World War II.

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President Franklin D. Roosevelt, commander-in-chief during World War II, was born, lived and is buried in Hyde Park. And Darrigan was one of many Dutchess residents who answered their nation’s call more than 75 years ago.

While in the military, Darrigan returned home for Schindler’s christening. Schindler and his mother were living with her parents in the city of Poughkeepsie when they learned of Darrigan’s death. She later remarried and moved to Pleasant Valley, then Troy.

Schindler said he really didn’t understand the full scope of his father’s bravery until he was a third-grader in Troy. That’s when, he said, the FBI dispatched an agent to check in on the family’s safety.

The agent visited Schindler’s mother, then arrived at his school.

“I probably wasn’t really cognizant of what the guy was talking about,” he said. “When I got home, she made me aware of what happened and what was going on. I’m sure I had been told before. Maybe I was too young to understand it.

“When I went home, my mother had the Purple Heart laid out, the newspaper clippings; we went over everything. It’s difficult to remember, all of it.”

Pineiro called this weekend’s news “Absolutely wonderful."

“I was three when he died,” said Pineiro, a retired banker. “I don’t remember much other than the fact that my family talked about him all the time. Now we can bring him home.”

Reporter Jack Howland contributed to this report. John W. Barry: jobarry@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4822; Twitter: @JohnBarryPoJo