Mathis was lost and declared unrecoverable in Japan in 1944."It's really quite an interesting story," said his nephew, Peyton Mathis III, who has done a lot of research over the years on the circumstances surrounding his uncle's death. "He was on a bombing mission and he was the commander of the squadron."



Peyton Mathis III said his uncle was the pilot of a P-38J Lightning.



"Apparently they got to the target area and the weather had turned bad or something," he said. "So they scrubbed the mission, and the planes all returned back to the base. During the return flight, he lost the right engine....Instead of coming back around and making a final approach, he went further and crashed into the swamp... That was June 5, 1944."



The family spent 70 years believing their hero's remains was unrecoverable, that is until news came in November that his remains had been identified.



"It wasn't so much a relief, as it was just a nice feeling that somebody out there really cared about the whole thing," Peyton Mathis III said.



Peyton Mathis III is hesitant to use the word "closure," because he thinks the word is overused. He does admit though, "It kind of fits."



His feelings for his uncle, the pride he has, will continue to grow.



"It meant a lot, and I think he inspired me. I learned to fly when I was 19. There is a great sense of pride in knowing what he did, and what he did for our country," Peyton Mathis III said.



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