ABC6 Honors: WWII hero laid to rest after 74 years

By: Christina Myers

cmyers@abc6.com

A World War II hero, who died saving the lives of other soldiers, was finally brought home and laid to rest in Pawtucket after 74 years lost at sea.

Captain Elwood Euart gave the ultimate sacrifice in 1942. Of the more than 5,000 soldiers and crew members on the S.S. Coolidge, only Captain Euart and one other soldier did not make it out. The other soldier died in the initial mine blast.

Elwood Euart’s family had given up hope his remains would ever be found.

"We never thought it would happen after 74 years. Underwater, you know, buried under the hull of a ship? You never thought there was ever going to be a recovery," said Elwood’s nephew, Paul Vallee, who never met his uncle.

In fact, none of Elwood’s surviving family members ever met him. To them, he was simply a legend.

"We grew up knowing the stories, but he was always the guy in the picture on the wall, he was kind of a mythological figure,” said Vallee.

It’s been more than seven decades since the S.S. President Coolidge, carrying more than 5,000 soldiers, hit a mine in the seas off the island of Espiritu Santo, near Australia.

Elwood made it off the ship safely, but when he learned some of his comrades were stuck in the ship’s infirmary, he went back in to save them.

"They tied a rope around his waist and lowered him down into the infirmary and they pulled out the six that were down there, and just as they were trying to get him out, the ship rolled over and the air bubble blew them out of the ship, but he was still tied to the railing so he didn’t make it out," recounted Vallee.

Elwood’s family knew their soldier died a hero as they accepted the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Service Cross and the Rhode Island Cross in his honor.

Meanwhile, the S.S. Coolidge sat at the bottom of the sea and turned into a popular spot for diving.

Then, more than two years ago, a diver uncovered what he thought were human remains. That’s when Vallee got a phone call, asking for a DNA sample.

“We thought it was a scam, thought it was a hoax,” said Vallee

But then, they found Captain Euart’s personal belongings with the remains, and Vallee got word that his DNA was a match.

"It freaked me out, I couldn’t believe it, you know? It’s just bizarre but incredible at the same time,” said Vallee. "It’s like a movie. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up, it’s only going to be a dream."

That dream is now a reality, as Captain Euart finally made it home.

He was laid to rest with the full support of the community, including the Boy Scouts from Manville Troop 1, an Honor Guard, and the State House lit up in red, white and blue.  

His final resting place is at a family plot that Elwood’s father had saved for him all these years.

“It’s like my grandfather knew that someday he’d come back," said Vallee.

The engraving on his headstone currently reads “Died at Sea,” but that will soon be changed.

© WLNE-TV / ABC6              2016