Soldier Who Went Missing In WWII To Get Memorial, Military Burial

NEW LENOX, IL — A U.S. Army staff sergeant who went missing nearly 77 years ago during World War II is finally coming home to rest with full military honors.

The remains of Gerald R. Helms, of Chicago, were first discovered in October 2019 by a Dutch citizen digging a trench in the front yard of a home in Katerbosch in the Netherlands, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Helms was assigned to Company E, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, according to the DPAA. He was declared missing after he failed to return from a lone scouting mission Oct. 2, 1944. His body was never found by his unit, and there was no evidence he was captured, so a presumptive finding of death was issued Oct. 3, 1945.

Helms' remains were examined by the Royal Netherlands Army’s Recovery and Identification Unit, according to the DPAA. They examined the remains and found Helms’ identification tags. Helms' remains were then sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, and DPAA confirmed on July 26, 2021, that the remains belonged to Helms.

Helms’ name, along with others still missing from WWII, is on the Walls of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands, according to the DPAA. A rosette will be placed next to his name to symbolize that he is now accounted for.

Helms was born June 19, 1915, according to Kurtz Memorial Chapel in New Lenox. He is survived by his only niece, JoAnne Born, and numerous great- and great-great nieces and nephews.

Visitation is planned from 10 a.m. to noon May 2 at Kurtz Memorial Chapel, 102 Francis Road, followed by a memorial service at noon.

Interment with full military honors will follow at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, 20953 W. Hoff Road in Elwood.