BUTTE - A young Butte man lost his life fighting in World War II. He’s finally being laid to rest in his hometown 85 years later, and though that’s a long time, many don’t want this man’s sacrifice to be forgotten.
“I think it’s just our patriotic duty to show respect for these guys who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” Missoula resident Dean Brinda said while waiting for the soldier’s remains to return to Butte on Wednesday.
WATCH: The remains of a Butte soldier who died in World War II have returned home 85 years later
The remains of Henry David Bordner were returned to his hometown on April 15, in a somber ceremony at the Bert-Mooney Airport that brought some people out to pay their respects. Robert Thornton, a Vietnam War veteran, said it was his duty to welcome a fellow soldier home.
“A lot of them don’t come home. I left a lot of good friends in Vietnam, and when I heard the soldier was coming home, I had to come out,” Thornton said.
Bordner was sent to fight in the Philippines in 1941, where he served with the 194th Tank Battalion. Overwhelmed by Japanese forces, Bordner was among those captured and forced to endure the 65-mile Bataan Death March. He died in captivity in October of 1942.
Efforts to identify his remains were inconclusive, and for decades were interred as an unknown on foreign soil. His name has been listed on this monument at Mountain View Cemetery in Butte among those honored dead resting in foreign lands.
It wasn’t until 2025 that the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency was able to officially identify Bordner’s remains.
A funeral service will be held on April 17th at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Butte, followed by a graveside burial with military honors at Mountain View Cemetery at 12:15 in the afternoon.
