Jim Bradshaw: Pvt. Soileau's long journey home from Guadalcanal
The solemn bugle tones of “Taps” and the 21-gun salute from a military honor guard were long overdue when Army Pvt. Hillary Soileau was finally laid to rest in Cedar Hill cemetery in Washington on May 21.
Nearly 80 years overdue.
He was listed as missing after a World War II battle on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific and only identified last December.
He was the son of Odey and Leona Soileau, who were farming near the St. Landry community of Whiteville when he entered the Army in July 1942 and was assigned to the 27th Regiment, 25th Infantry Division.
One of the division’s first combat operations was as part of an Allied effort that began in December 1942 to clear the enemy from Guadalcanal.
Hilary could not be found after a battle in a group of hills nicknamed Galloping Horse on Jan. 14, 1943.
He was declared missing in action on February 3, and was officially declared killed in action on Dec. 13, 1945.
He was 23 years old.
Two unidentified men from the 27th Infantry were found near the Galloping Horse battlefield a month after the fighting and were buried at the Army, Navy, and Marine Cemetery on Guadalcanal. Americans buried there were later exhumed and taken to Hawaii.
One of the two unknown soldiers was identified at that time, but Soileau was not.
His remains, identified as Unknown-52, were buried again at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
His name was recorded on a wall of the at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines, along with others missing from World War II.
He remained there for more than three-quarters of a century, until finally, on Dec. 8, 2021, the Defense Department’s POW/MIA Accounting Agency said scientists using DNA, dental records and other evidence were finally able to positively identify him.
It took a while to make the arrangements and get him from Hawaii to Louisiana, but he was buried for the last time with military honors on Armed Forces Day
near the graves of his parents in the historic old cemetery.
His last surviving sibling, Mary Lee Soileau, was presented the flag from his coffin by his great-nephew, Marine Capt. Joseph Soileau, who offered a eulogy for his great-uncle.
The 17-year Marine veteran said one of a soldier’s biggest fears is being killed and not being returned to his family.
He said Hilary’s long delayed return to his native St. Landry Parish was a celebration of “all that it took to get him back home.”
Hilary’s journey is also a reminder this Memorial Day weekend of the thoughts of another eulogist who spoke at a remembrance after World War I:
“As we in reverence think of our mighty dead, let us not forget that great blessings have a great price.”
Take a moment to reflect on Hilary’s journey and those of men and women who served in his war and in those before and since,
You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.