0:00

This is a Glassbox Media Podcast.

0:06

Hey, missing listeners. We wanted to bring

0:08

another episode back that we really

0:10

enjoyed producing. This one is about

0:12

my great uncle, Thomas Polary, who

0:15

went missing during World War II.

0:18

This episode originally aired last

0:20

November, and there's been no

0:22

update, but I know we've

0:24

gotten some new listeners, and I just wanted

0:26

to make sure we shared this episode. Thank

0:28

you for listening everyone. Happy Holidays. Welcome

1:03

back to Missing. I am Tim here

1:05

today with Lance. Lance, how are you

1:07

today? I'm doing great today, Tim. I'm

1:09

super excited about this episode because it

1:11

is a bit of a deviation from

1:13

what we typically produce, and

1:15

it's a very personal glimpse into something that

1:17

you've been looking into for years. And

1:20

you put this together. I haven't

1:22

heard it. I know some of the

1:24

elements of it, and I can't wait to listen to it.

1:27

And I love the fact that this is being released

1:29

on Thanksgiving and the day before Thanksgiving. So

1:32

if you do hear this during this time and

1:34

you're with your family, just take a moment and

1:37

appreciate what you got going on around you. This

1:39

is a fantastic story. I'm going to stop talking

1:41

and I'll pass it over to you now. OK,

1:44

thanks a lot. Yeah, this is kind of

1:46

a holiday special. I guess we're going to

1:48

be releasing it on both of our podcasts,

1:50

Crawl Space and Missing, Missing

1:52

Tomorrow on Thanksgiving. My great

1:54

uncle Tom Pilari is technically missing. We'll

1:56

get into it in the story. Several

2:00

people in this episode, one of them is

2:02

my father, Frank Polary. A couple other people

2:04

who have helped a lot, that's Dave Nichols

2:06

and Judy Knop. You'll hear from them a

2:09

little bit later. And two great voice actors,

2:11

Sarah Shekels and G. Larry Butler, help lend

2:13

their voices to this episode. So I'm really

2:15

excited to share this. I hope everyone really

2:17

enjoys it. And before we get to that,

2:19

Tim, maybe we should talk about our subscription

2:22

service real quick. Well if you'd like an

2:24

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Or you can go to Missing.SupportingCast.fm and we

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can also get our weekly bonus show

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over there. And our weekly bonus

2:41

show is a show where we typically get together

2:43

with our partner, Jennifer Armel, and we talk about

2:45

the cases that we've covered. And

2:47

we get a little bit more animated and a little bit

2:49

more detailed with our theories. And Tim,

2:51

if someone wanted to follow us on social

2:53

media, where would one go? They can do

2:55

that at MissingCSM. Thanks a lot for listening

2:57

everybody, we really appreciate it. We're going to

2:59

break quick for commercial here and we'll be right back

3:02

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3:08

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hours wherever you get your

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podcasts. This.

4:18

Story is unlike most there we cover

4:20

on this show. A

4:22

mess because this one is about

4:24

my great Uncle Thomas Stephen. Polarity.

4:27

A man I never met. But.

4:29

Still feel connected to at times. Our.

4:32

Names are only separated by one letter.

4:35

He's Tom and I'm Tim and we both

4:37

share the same last name. There

4:39

are many Blair is out there. There are some

4:41

Tom Player is in the Boston area why I'm

4:43

also related to and they were named after the

4:46

original Tom Blair. The you're about to Hear About.

4:49

This. Is a true story about

4:51

a mostly unknown American hero in

4:53

my family. And.

4:55

I'd like to try and help change the unknown

4:57

part. Time. Was

5:00

born on April fifteenth, nineteen twenty

5:02

two in Cambridge, Massachusetts use the

5:04

fourth of seven kids that Angelina

5:06

and James Blair. He had. Both.

5:09

Of Tom's parents were born in Naples,

5:11

Italy before the turn of the century

5:13

their marriage and already had two children

5:15

before leaving Italy for America on the

5:17

Ss. can pick really just days after

5:20

the official end of World War One.

5:23

I wondered if their decision to leave

5:25

Italy was because of the war and

5:27

political unrest. To. Keep their family

5:29

safe, But. I

5:31

suppose if that's true, It would

5:33

be darkly ironic. They.

5:36

Were working class. Family like so

5:38

many other big immigrant families living

5:40

in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the their

5:42

his mom, Angelina, dad, James, older

5:44

brother Pasquale went by Pat, Josephine,

5:46

Rose Thomas for than line. Then

5:49

came my grandfather Francis Rudolf. Next

5:51

was Mary that Elvira who went

5:53

by Honey. We'll be hearing a

5:55

letter from Honey later. Growing.

5:59

Up Thomas and. One three sport

6:01

athlete, fast as lightning, he excelled

6:03

at baseball, football, and basketball. And

6:06

after high school time in his older brother Pasquale

6:08

were working in a candy store to help support

6:10

the family. Tom. Was nineteen

6:13

years old when suddenly his life and

6:15

the lives of millions of Americans chains

6:17

and one fateful day. On

6:19

December seventh, nineteen, forty one Japanese fighter

6:22

jets surprise Us forces at Pearl Harbor

6:24

Naval Base in Hawaii. They bombed the

6:26

base and killed over twenty four hundred

6:29

American service members and sixty eight civilians.

6:31

The. United States had officially been pulled into

6:34

World War Two, where up until this

6:36

point, we'd resisted. No,

6:38

I don't know this to be true, but I

6:40

think that nineteen year old Tommy was so pissed

6:42

off about the Attack on Pearl Harbor that he

6:45

enlisted in the Marines that same month. Because just

6:47

thirty one days later, on January Eighth, nineteen Forty

6:49

two, he was already reporting for duty. It

6:53

was a scary time for young kids like

6:55

Tom. Went from doing homework and playing basketball

6:57

in high school to firing guns and running

6:59

for their lives on battlefields across the globe.

7:02

Tom family didn't want him to go.

7:05

My grandfather, Frank Larry was just sixteen

7:07

years old when his big brother deployed.

7:09

I can hardly imagine how emotional nectar

7:11

by scene was. The family new Tom

7:13

was being sent to war and that

7:15

there was a chance they never see

7:17

him again. I

7:19

picture my sixteen year old grandfather giving

7:22

his older brother a bear hug. Sister.

7:26

Honey mentions their family goodbye in the

7:28

Nineteen Seventy Nine letter to the Us.

7:30

government. I

7:34

last saw my brother January

7:36

Six, Nineteen, Forty two. Within.

7:39

A few days on January Twenty says.

7:43

I would have been twelve years old. He.

7:45

Promised me he'd be back for

7:47

my birthday. He

7:50

couldn't make it. I

7:53

remember calling him and crying at the

7:55

window. He blew

7:57

kisses to me and mom and waste

7:59

here. I'll see

8:01

you soon. We.

8:03

Didn't. Plan.

8:05

He couldn't help. It

8:09

is thirty seven years now and I

8:11

still remember. Tom. Was

8:13

first sent a basic training camp Le

8:15

Jeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina and I

8:17

learned from my new friend Judy. Tell

8:19

you about her later that Tom took

8:21

a train across the country to San

8:23

Diego, California and he eventually left on

8:26

a transport ship. There was a converted

8:28

ocean liner nicknamed the Wacky Mack. The

8:30

left from San Francisco and went out

8:32

right under the Golden Gate Bridge. I

8:35

wondered where Tom was when he turned

8:37

twenty on April Fifteenth. Nineteen Forty two.

8:41

Judy. Told me that he likely celebrate

8:43

his twentieth birthday in New Zealand or Australia

8:45

before actually going to battle. Why?

8:48

Just I'll be at a good time. If.

8:50

When I turn twenty was any indication of what

8:52

Tom was like when he turned twenty. While.

8:54

It would have been a good party. Tom.

8:57

Was sent to the Solomon Islands. The

8:59

Solomon Islands are these small isles off

9:01

the coast of Papa, New Guinea, and

9:03

Australia. It looks positively beautiful in a

9:05

limited photos I've seen on the internet,

9:07

but I've never been. A

9:09

back when Tom was there. Nineteen Forty two. It.

9:12

Looked a lot different. Sounded

9:14

a lot different. When.

9:17

I think it the Solomon Islands. Today I think

9:19

it sounds windy with a side of mosquito buzz.

9:22

But. As a podcast or I'm always thinking about

9:24

audio quality. Back in nineteen

9:26

forty two when Tom was there. There.

9:29

Is also gun fire. Bombs.

9:32

And. Screams. Guadalcanal.

9:35

Island is where Tom ended up. and

9:37

today and twenty twenty two, you can

9:40

purchase guadalcanal.com for sixty five hundred dollars.

9:43

It seems like the islands official site if it as one

9:45

at all. if you're big

9:47

history or world war two buff you

9:49

may have heard of the battle of

9:51

guadalcanal it was featured in the james

9:53

jones book and terrence malick film the

9:55

thin red line and more recently in

9:57

the tv series the pacific produced by

9:59

stevens Spielberg and Tom Hanks. It

10:02

was apparently one of the turning points in the

10:05

war and the US had all of their military

10:07

branches on the island during this bloody battle that

10:09

went from August of 1942 to

10:11

February of 1943. Now

10:15

I've learned a lot about the Battle of Guadalcanal

10:17

since starting this deep dive into Tom. And

10:20

I understand the main objective of this tug

10:22

of war over this island was

10:24

an airstrip later named Henderson

10:27

Field and it

10:29

became an important launching point for the Allies during

10:31

their time in the South Pacific. And

10:33

while doing research about Guadalcanal at

10:35

that time, I found this incredible

10:37

video on YouTube. It's called

10:40

USS Wasp CV-7 Burning in Sinking

10:42

Very Rare Footage 1942. This

10:45

aircraft carrier was sunk by

10:47

three Japanese torpedoes on September

10:49

15th 1942 just

10:52

off the coast of Guadalcanal. I

10:54

have to wonder if Tom saw it. I

10:58

mean someone filmed it sinking. There were

11:00

probably hundreds of soldiers watching it sink.

11:02

A bunch more jumping off the carrier,

11:04

maybe swimming to the beach. I

11:07

can't imagine what watching that aircraft carrier

11:09

sink did to the hope of the

11:11

service members on that island. And

11:14

then it occurred to me, could I be

11:16

watching the same thing today on YouTube from

11:18

the comfort of my home office that Tom

11:20

saw from that island in 1942? And

11:23

then I realized, no, I

11:27

know you didn't see this. Because

11:30

a couple of nights earlier on

11:32

September 13th 1942, Tom and

11:35

his battalion, the 3rd battalion 1st Marines

11:37

Division was guarding a thruway called the

11:39

Overland Trail. Down the trail

11:41

led to their entire headquarters and Henderson

11:43

Field, which was the airstrip mentioned earlier

11:46

that was so important during the war. Tom

11:48

and five others volunteered to protect

11:51

this trail overnight. Lieutenant

11:53

Joseph Terzi, Private 1st Class Polary,

11:55

Mixter, Lawrence, Jabbo, and McDermott were

11:57

the six men who set up

11:59

a listening to protect the trail

12:01

that night armed with Thompson submachine guns.

12:04

And they must have been pretty quiet. They seemed

12:06

to be expecting to see the Japanese. Major

12:09

E.G. Mizuno's Kuma Battalion was already a

12:11

day late when they arrived that night.

12:14

And this is the description that Private

12:16

First Class Leo McDermott gave in Jason

12:18

Abadie's book, Battle at the Overland Trail.

12:21

Six of us ran into a company of

12:23

Japs. Polari, Mixer,

12:28

Lawrence, Jabo, Joe

12:32

Terzi, and I see... Heard

12:35

them coming and shot hell out of some of them. They

12:38

tossed about 20 or 30 grenades at

12:41

us and we withdrew to the Ilu

12:43

River. We

12:45

stayed in the river under an

12:47

overhanging bank while the Japs beat

12:49

along both banks, shooting and screaming.

12:53

We stayed in the river about three hours.

12:56

Damn near froze to death. Then

12:59

we climbed off the bank and stayed

13:02

there till dawn. That night

13:04

was the worst I've ever spent. It's

13:07

only a miracle I'm here writing

13:09

this today. Mixer

13:12

and Jabo came back about four

13:14

days later. Lawrence

13:16

had made it back to our lines

13:18

the night the firefight started. The

13:21

lieutenant and I came back the morning after.

13:25

Polari didn't

13:27

come back at all. We're

13:30

leaving Tom on this island. He

13:33

died there that night. We

13:36

didn't find out till four days later.

13:40

Tom was a good friend and

13:44

a swag guy. You

14:00

will find some more information about that night.

14:06

You'll also find that Private First

14:08

Class Thomas S. Polare was posthumously

14:10

awarded the Silver Star for conspicuous

14:13

gallantry and intrepidity in action in

14:15

connection with operations against the enemy

14:17

at Guadalcanal on the 13th and

14:19

14th of September 1942. Private

14:22

First Class Polare was manning a

14:24

machine gun for the all-volunteer Forward

14:27

Element listening post when a Japanese

14:29

battalion initiated a full-scale assault to

14:31

overrun the Marine control of Henderson

14:33

Field. In the ensuing heavy firefight,

14:36

Private First Class Polare heroically remained

14:38

at his station to cover the

14:40

ordered withdrawal to the unit perimeter.

14:43

Due to the lethal fire he provided

14:45

against the enveloping enemy, the other members

14:47

of the post were able to withdraw.

14:50

The Japanese surge was checked and the

14:52

defensive positions were altered to maximum readiness.

14:55

Private First Class Polare's actions ultimately cost

14:57

him his life, but helped save the

14:59

lives of other members of his unit

15:01

and also helped the 11th Marines to

15:03

repulse the Japanese attack. By

15:05

his initiative, courageous actions, and

15:08

complete dedication to duty, Private First

15:10

Class Polare reflected great credit upon

15:12

himself and upheld the highest traditions

15:14

of the Marine Corps and the

15:16

United States Naval Service. Naturally,

15:20

my family was devastated when they learned of

15:22

Tom's death, and there was an infinite

15:24

sadness that took over the family. I

15:26

can't begin to understand what that must have felt like,

15:29

but I try. I actually try every day while

15:31

covering missing persons on one of my podcasts

15:33

called Missing. This one time,

15:35

not even that long ago, after we stopped recording

15:38

with a mom of a missing young woman, we

15:40

thanked her, she thanked us, and turned

15:42

off her Zoom, or at least she thought she did.

15:45

What my friend and co-host Lance Reensterner and

15:47

I saw was a woman who had kept

15:49

it all in for an hour, just to

15:51

speak to us about her missing child. We

15:54

now saw visual evidence of how hard that

15:56

was for her to do, but

15:58

she delayed that pain pushed it

16:00

down for an hour because it could

16:02

possibly help find her kid. When

16:05

she realized she was still on the zoom, she quickly

16:07

and instinctively shut it off, almost like she was embarrassed

16:09

to show us that hurt. But not

16:11

after letting out what I can only describe as a

16:14

groan, a sound of deep pain.

16:16

We've spoken to a lot of family and friends

16:18

of missing people over the years, and a loss

16:21

like that leaves a hole in their lives that

16:23

can't be filled. Angelina and James

16:25

got divorced, which was kind of rare

16:27

for that time. James died a few

16:29

years before my father was born, so he never

16:31

met his grandfather from Italy. But he

16:33

had this to say. My siblings

16:35

and I weren't overly close with our

16:38

grandmother Angelina. The only thing we

16:40

really knew was she was a

16:42

good cook and she was divorced.

16:45

And she had a bunch of kids. Other

16:47

than that, we didn't know that much

16:50

about her. What did you

16:52

hear about her divorce to James?

16:54

James was, I guess he had

16:56

a drinking problem. That's really the

16:58

only thing that I

17:00

know. Do you know, was he an

17:03

alcoholic or a big drinker before

17:06

Tom went missing? You

17:08

know, that's a great question. I

17:12

know less about him than

17:14

I do my grandmother Angelina.

17:17

So I'm not sure. I

17:20

mean, there were a couple rumors,

17:23

but don't have

17:25

a lot of info about James

17:28

or Angelina. I know

17:30

Tom's mom Angelina missed him dearly. She

17:32

dictated a paragraph to Honey in their

17:34

1979 letter to the US government. I

17:37

want my son Tommy to come home. I

17:40

cannot rest till we have him here. I

17:44

dream of Tommy all the time. He

17:47

don't want to be where he is. He

17:50

want to come home. We

17:53

must find a way to bring him home now. He

17:56

has my boy. Tell them I

17:59

wanted my boy. when they told me

18:01

I could send him, then I get another

18:03

letter. They tell me

18:05

the Japanese are bombed where the graves

18:08

were, and they said it

18:10

would be hard to find him. I

18:13

want to my boy, and I

18:15

must find him. I cannot rest

18:17

till we bring him home." My

18:21

grandfather didn't talk about his brother much. I

18:24

was lucky enough to have my grandfather in my life for

18:26

twenty-four years, and I never heard him talk about Tom. He

18:29

was great to me, my sister, parents,

18:31

cousins. We never witnessed that kind

18:34

of sadness in him. Was

18:36

it there? Did

18:38

time help heal that hole that Tom left in

18:40

him? Maybe

18:43

having kids and grandkids did. I

18:47

wondered. I needed to know from

18:49

my dad if his father ever talked about Tom.

18:52

Did he ever break down in front of his family?

18:55

I asked him. My father was

18:57

very tight-lipped about anything that happened

19:00

in the war. I

19:02

can probably name four

19:05

or five different things that he

19:07

mentioned about that particular time

19:10

or his brother Tom. It

19:13

was pretty much never spoken. Your

19:16

father basically never mentioned his missing

19:18

brother Tom to you or your

19:20

siblings? Not really. Other

19:22

than at the dedication for Thomas

19:25

Polerri Square in Cambridge,

19:28

he mentioned that that was his

19:31

older brother and he passed. Other

19:35

than that, he never

19:37

really mentioned him. Were you

19:39

at the dedication for the square? I

19:42

was, yeah. Thomas Polerri Square exists right

19:44

near where the family was raised at

19:46

the corner of 2nd Street and Cambridge

19:48

Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. If you're familiar

19:50

with Boston or Cambridge, this is very

19:52

close to the Leechmere train station, but

19:54

you could easily miss this sign if

19:56

you weren't looking for it. It

19:58

stands about 10 feet high. The sign

20:01

is black with a gold star on

20:03

it. It reads Thomas S. Polary Square

20:05

private United States Marine Corps World War

20:07

II Born April 15th 1922

20:11

killed in action September 7th Guadalcanal

20:16

Solomon Islands. It was a pretty proud

20:18

moment. It was it was very very

20:20

nice. It was a short ceremony I

20:22

think the mayor I

20:25

forget Maybe Senator Kennedy

20:27

might have been there or some politicians

20:29

were definitely there, but I don't remember

20:32

which ones did Papa

20:34

get emotional either that time or at

20:36

the dedication in the early

20:39

2000s he got emotional at Both

20:42

at least somewhat and you know he was you

20:44

know your grandfather was a pretty stoic guy

20:47

He didn't show all

20:49

that much emotion, especially if it was

20:53

Careful emotion, but I do think

20:55

that he learned some things at

20:58

the dedication I Don't

21:01

know that he knew the full scope of

21:03

what of what you know Tom

21:05

Tom had done to protect the

21:08

rest of His

21:10

platoon you mentioned Papa's

21:12

sisters Did they ever talk

21:14

about Tommy or did you ever see the

21:16

impact of his loss on them? Not

21:19

so much I do know that you

21:22

know they still carried that

21:24

loss Up

21:27

until you know I was I was an adult

21:29

started my own family and all especially

21:32

the youngest Sister

21:34

you know we called a honey and her name was

21:37

actually Elvira and they and

21:39

they called a honey She was

21:41

extremely emotional about everything She was

21:43

that type of person and and

21:45

every time she talked of her

21:47

brothers She always mentioned

21:50

Tom and a tear would

21:52

come to her eye So I got

21:54

more information out of my aunt than my dad

21:57

You know ever and I'd always heard this rumor

21:59

that my grandfather lied about his

22:01

age to enlist in the service, to

22:03

sort of avenge his brother Tom's death.

22:06

Although I can't find documented proof, there

22:09

are some hints on ancestry.com, and I

22:11

asked my dad. And

22:13

my father was so distraught

22:17

and ticked off, he went down

22:19

and joined the Marines. But

22:22

the problem was, he wasn't of legal

22:25

age to join the Marines or

22:27

join any branch

22:29

of service. So he

22:31

forged his paperwork in

22:34

order to go and enlist

22:36

in the Marines, which is the

22:39

same branch that Tom was part of.

22:42

And the story that I heard was, my

22:45

father was so angry

22:47

at the enemy that he wanted to

22:49

go and avenge his death. It

22:51

was almost like a Marvel, DC

22:54

comic movie motivation. But

22:56

he forged the paperwork to

22:58

make him that minimum age,

23:01

so that they wouldn't even question it, and

23:04

they would accept him. And we'll be

23:06

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now we're back to the program So

25:45

that brings us to October 3rd 2017

25:48

when I received a Facebook message from a

25:50

familiar name Not a

25:52

familiar person but a name that was familiar

25:54

because I grew up right across the street

25:57

from not one But two men named this

25:59

exact same thing And at this

26:01

point in my life, I had been working

26:03

on the disappearance of Mora Mari Case and

26:05

docu-series from Oxygen Network. In fact,

26:07

it had just aired the second of its six parts

26:10

a few days earlier. So I opened this message and

26:12

it wasn't from one of my old neighbors. It was

26:14

a different guy who went by the same name. And

26:17

his message was curious. He introduced himself and

26:19

basically just asked me to confirm that I

26:21

was who he thought I was. Because

26:24

of the docu-series, we had been experiencing more

26:26

emails and theories than ever before about the

26:28

Mora Mari disappearance case. The online trolls in

26:31

that case are notorious and in my head

26:33

I remember not replying to him for weeks.

26:35

But in reality, I wrote him back in

26:37

two minutes. Which is a sign

26:40

of the times I guess, to me at least, because

26:42

I'm never on Facebook messenger anymore. So

26:44

we agreed to have a phone conversation and we

26:46

spoke the next evening. He told me all about

26:48

the Honor Flight Network and he said that he

26:50

wanted to fly a flag over the Capitol building

26:52

in honor of my great uncle Tom. I

26:54

recently spoke with Dave Nichols for this podcast and

26:57

I asked him about it. I had a flag

26:59

flown and I sent him the information about Thomas.

27:03

And actually my mother had gotten so

27:06

deeply involved in this story. That's

27:08

how I kind of found out about it. Thomas

27:11

is her adoptive veteran and

27:14

kind of a guardian angel in a way. I

27:16

had a phone to send to her so it

27:19

came folded in a

27:22

triangle as it does. And with a

27:24

certificate saying this flag was flown over the U.S.

27:26

Capitol on such and such a date in

27:29

honor of Thomas Pilari, it's kind of a

27:31

neat thing to do to honor

27:34

someone. Now before we recorded, I

27:36

thought that what Dave had done for Tom

27:38

about the flag getting flown over the Capitol

27:40

was actually a part of his work at

27:42

Honor Flight. But I was wrong.

27:44

So Honor Flight, we're a national nonprofit. Our

27:47

mission is to bring World

27:49

War II, Korean, and

27:51

Vietnam veterans from all over

27:53

the country at no cost to

27:55

the veteran to D.C. to be honored at

27:58

their memorials. Our two co-founders, had

28:00

the realization that a lot of

28:02

these veterans, even back then, can't

28:05

travel or didn't have the means to travel

28:07

and would never get to see their

28:09

memorial. So we started out taking

28:11

World War II veterans. The first flight

28:15

was six Cessnas

28:18

with two veterans on each, and they came

28:20

from Ohio. And since then,

28:22

we've had pups in

28:24

different parts of the country who have chartered a 747 and filmed it.

28:28

So it's gotten very big,

28:31

but, so that's our mission,

28:33

to get as many, and

28:35

many to see their memorials that they dedicated

28:38

their lives and made such

28:40

a high sacrifice for. So

28:43

at the end of it, all he really wanted from

28:45

me was a photograph of Thomas Polari for his mom.

28:48

And guess what? I didn't have one. So

28:50

determined to find a photo of Tom,

28:52

Dave wisely relied on his contacts. He

28:54

put me in contact with a Katie

28:56

from History Flight, not to be confused

28:58

with Honor Flight. Dave and Katie met

29:00

during the funeral service for a Tuskegee

29:03

Airman who was lost during World War

29:05

II, then found and identified. And

29:07

they were apparently talking about Tom Polari, which

29:09

led him to put me in contact with

29:12

Katie. Katie then put me

29:14

in touch with US Marine Corps

29:16

Headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, specifically

29:18

the Prisoner of War Missing

29:20

in Action Office. I

29:23

was also put in touch with someone from the

29:25

DNA Family Outreach Program. And for the first time,

29:27

I wondered, hey, what are the

29:29

chances Tom could actually

29:31

be recovered? They asked for

29:33

my DNA, and I told them, of course, I'll send it

29:35

in. What if? How

29:37

wild would that be? But unfortunately, as

29:39

I know all too well being in

29:42

the true crime space, sometimes DNA results

29:44

take forever. Things are getting better, though.

29:46

Just check out dnasolves.com for evidence of

29:48

that. So after I sent my DNA

29:50

to the government to hopefully try and

29:52

make a match, the government

29:54

actually sent me Tom's entire military records,

29:57

which includes that letter from honey and my great-grandmother, as well

29:59

as one. very faint photocopy of a photograph

30:01

of Tom and you can barely make him

30:03

out. But if this photocopy exists then there's

30:06

got to be a real copy somewhere right?

30:08

I think this is probably a good time

30:10

to play the entire letter from my great

30:12

aunt honey and my great grandmother Angelina. To

30:14

call the moment I read

30:16

this letter emotional is

30:18

probably an understatement. It

30:21

was surreal reading the words

30:23

from my great aunt and

30:26

great grandmother. They were desperate

30:28

to try to locate Tom to

30:30

bring him back to Cambridge Mass. And

30:33

this letter from honey and Angelina is

30:35

actually the epilogue in

30:37

a book called Leaving Mac

30:39

Behind the Lost Marines of

30:41

Guadalcanal by Jeffrey Rocker. July

30:44

17th 1979 Dear General sir I am writing

30:46

this letter to you today in the

30:55

hopes you may be able to help us. First

30:59

of all I am writing for myself. My

31:02

feelings are very deep and

31:04

very concerning. I

31:07

am worried about my mom. Her

31:09

health is declining. She

31:11

is or rather will be 83 years old August 6th 79.

31:18

She is a gold star mother and was

31:20

dependent on my brother Tommy as

31:22

there were still four of us whom he

31:25

supported plus mom made five. I

31:28

last saw my brother January 6th 1942.

31:33

Within a few days on January

31:36

25th I would have been 12

31:38

years old. He

31:40

promised me he'd be back for my birthday. He

31:45

couldn't make it. I

31:47

remember calling him and crying at the window. He

31:50

blew kisses to me and mom and waved.

31:53

He yelled back I'll

31:55

see you soon. We

31:58

didn't. but he couldn't help

32:00

it. It

32:03

is 37 years now, and

32:06

I still remember. Oh,

32:09

yes, he did

32:11

come back once and was called back and

32:13

his leave was cancelled. He

32:16

left us again, but this time he never

32:19

came back. I

32:22

have had many birthdays since, but always

32:24

I remember Tommy and my prayers. If

32:27

only he could come home, I would

32:30

feel very happy knowing he is where he

32:32

belongs. I have

32:34

to think that way, otherwise I could become

32:36

very sick. Here I

32:38

am trying to nurse Mom, who cries

32:40

constantly for Tommy. As

32:43

I said, Mom will be 83 years old. Now

32:48

I am writing for her.

32:52

I want my son Tommy to come home.

32:55

I cannot rest till we have him here.

32:58

I dream of Tommy all the time. He

33:02

don't want to be where he is. He

33:05

want to come home. We

33:07

must find a way to bring him home now. Yes,

33:11

my boy. Tell them I wanted

33:14

my boy when they told me I could

33:16

send him. Then I get another letter.

33:19

They tell me the Japanese are formed

33:21

where the graves were and they

33:24

said it would be hard to find him.

33:27

I want my boy and I must

33:30

find him. I cannot

33:32

rest till we bring him home. My

33:35

sisters, four and brothers, three, those of us,

33:38

the total seven plus me and Tommy was

33:40

eight. We lost

33:42

a sister, so now there are

33:44

six of us left. Oldest being

33:46

in order, Patsy, Josie, Rosie, Frankie,

33:49

Mary and me, Elvira.

33:54

We all agree to be able to give Mom peace

33:56

of mind to do what we can to bring Tommy

33:58

home. More than

34:00

a month now we wrote to Ted Kennedy and asked

34:02

him to please help us. I

34:05

sent him copies of all the papers we have,

34:08

all that I could find pertaining to

34:10

our loss. Time

34:12

is very important. Every

34:14

day is a bonus as far as Mom is concerned.

34:18

Could you please advise us on how to get

34:20

a quick reply? We

34:23

realize that we are not the only ones

34:25

needing help, but someone, somewhere,

34:28

should be able to tell us something. If

34:32

you need any more information, please let

34:34

us know. We

34:37

had another family meeting the day before yesterday.

34:40

We all agreed as to what to expect. We

34:43

know after 37 years, I

34:47

don't want to go into that. But

34:50

if it will put my Mom at ease, we must

34:52

hide our thoughts and our feelings for her sake. We

34:56

must believe as she believes. It

34:59

is important now. You

35:02

see, sir, I

35:04

don't think any of us was really convinced

35:07

Tommy was really dead. God

35:09

help us. God help him. Please

35:13

help us. Tell

35:16

me what to do next. Only

35:18

please make us hear from you soon. We

35:22

plan to have a very quick, very quaint family

35:24

thing in the servicemen section of Cambridge

35:26

Cemetery. My Mom wants

35:28

us to get her a place as close to where Tommy

35:30

will be. It

35:32

is sad. My

35:35

Mom lives with my husband and me. She

35:37

cannot do for herself. She needs care. We

35:40

have done it this last eight years and she is not

35:42

better. She is

35:44

worse and every day counts. She

35:48

cries in the night. So

35:50

we have to do this. If

35:52

you could call her and tell her you were doing

35:54

what she can, it would

35:56

help. Mrs.

36:01

George Paula from Mom, Mrs.

36:04

Angelina Polari. I

36:12

was shocked to read that they still weren't

36:14

sure if Tom was alive or not. I

36:17

think deep down they probably knew he wasn't, but

36:19

they were still holding out hope. To

36:22

hear how badly they wanted him to

36:24

be buried in Cambridge is simply remarkable

36:26

to me. I mean that letter was

36:29

sent 37 years after Tommy's disappearance.

36:32

Angelina was getting old and she passed away a

36:34

few years later. She never saw

36:36

Tom again after he left in 1942. It's

36:40

clear that the family never found closure. The

36:43

government sent recovery missions in 1947 and 1949 to try and find

36:45

Tom, as well as other missing

36:49

soldiers and Marines. To my

36:51

knowledge they weren't successful in locating him,

36:53

and I'm reading from his official file

36:55

now. This one is dated May 23, 1947. Private

37:00

First Class Thomas Stephen Polari

37:02

354727 was officially reported killed

37:04

in action on the 17th

37:06

of September 1942 at Guadalcanal,

37:09

British Solomon Islands. Entry

37:12

and service record book shows buried in the

37:14

field on the 17th of September

37:16

1942. And

37:18

then in the letter dated April 26, 1949, it goes on

37:20

to say that exact details are not given

37:26

and no further information is available. And

37:29

in the file it has coordinates. The

37:31

island was searched from map coordinates 159 degrees, 55 minutes

37:33

east and 9 degrees, 25

37:39

minutes south to 160 degrees, 20 minutes east and 9

37:41

degrees, 35 minutes south. It

37:46

goes on, after careful consideration

37:48

of all the facts involved,

37:50

the board unanimously resolved that

37:53

the subject, decedent, be declared

37:55

non-recoverable. And then there's another

37:57

letter I have from the 19th of September, 1946.

38:00

that again says the remains of

38:02

the subject have been declared non-recoverable

38:04

by special boards convened in the

38:06

field and in the office of

38:08

the quartermaster general. So

38:10

it seems like the government tried to locate

38:12

Tom, but weren't able to. And

38:15

I wasn't even able to locate a photograph of

38:17

Tom. And we'll be right

38:19

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drive safely. Event ends 1-2-24. My

39:24

dad Tom is one of the most charming men

39:26

you'll ever meet. The love of

39:29

my mom's life. But for

39:31

52 years, he was also something else.

39:34

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39:41

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39:57

But then about two years later, Pretty

39:59

much. Out of the Pacific Blue. Dave.

40:02

Email me a photo of tall. And

40:05

what a sight! To be honest to

40:07

me, he kind of look like me

40:09

at that age. And Dave finally had

40:11

a photograph of Thomas Pillory to show

40:13

his mom. I ask Dave what

40:15

it meant to him on and it was like

40:17

any other time To put a name to the

40:20

face does mean a lot because. You're

40:22

no longer have a statistics it

40:24

it becomes more person you know.

40:26

even the Vietnam war you can

40:28

see the names on their net

40:30

brings it to another level. that's

40:32

the only memorial it has to

40:34

name's I'm often asked to we're

40:36

we're tumors memorial it where the

40:38

names are but there are no

40:40

names or gold stars as a

40:42

gold star war and each gold

40:45

star on that wall represents a

40:47

hundred people have died during the

40:49

war. But. It's

40:51

not personal because you don't know

40:53

the names. are

40:55

not listed out and more with

40:58

to get his face just to

41:00

see the person's eyes eating kind

41:02

of empathize a move that with

41:04

the family because nightmare you know

41:06

with their used to saying. To.

41:09

No longer see again so it's for

41:11

is free for a deep, very personable

41:13

and this is right about the time

41:15

that I started wondering why and how

41:17

Dave and his mom became interested in

41:20

Thomas player. Dave said Thomas kind of

41:22

a guardian angel to his mom. And

41:24

it was clear from our prior phone call, the Daves

41:26

mom had a connection with Tom. Dave. Introduced

41:28

me to his mother, Judy not. Items

41:31

from a military family. I

41:33

grew up and went to say school.

41:35

Always had. This. Interest in

41:37

World War Two history may

41:39

suit. Interested It started. With

41:42

Earn William Boxes article.

41:45

In the September Nineteen Ninety Seven.

41:48

Crucial. Battle, it's ignored. It

41:50

really was a crystal battle

41:52

because our without of what

41:54

those folks did especially your

41:56

great uncle especially are great

41:58

uncle. People. just did

42:00

not realize his

42:02

impact on keeping Henderson Field in

42:05

American hands. And this is not

42:07

to shortchange anything that the Raiders

42:09

did on Edmond Field. But

42:12

there was an open flank, with an

42:14

open flank on that right-hand side. And

42:17

if the Japanese had realized that we

42:19

might have lost, and said we probably

42:21

would have lost Guadalcanal and Australia, huge.

42:25

Wow. So yeah, that one battle

42:27

and what Tom did seem

42:29

to have sort of alerted

42:31

his entire battalion to the Japanese. Is that

42:33

how you understand it? Yes. On

42:36

the 12th of September 1942, Hao

42:38

Buu-chi attacked and read it to

42:40

news that they were going to come back. And

42:42

so they were getting ready up on top of

42:44

the ridge. But K-31,

42:47

which was where I...

42:51

Lots in my head I call him Buddy. Well if

42:53

I call him Buddy, that's just because I'm used to

42:55

that. Buddy was over there and

42:57

he was with a weapons platoon. Joe

43:00

Terzi was in charge of that. Terzi went

43:02

and he said, I think we

43:04

should have a lifting coast. There had been another one

43:06

up the day before. The orders

43:08

that were given by Joe Terzi,

43:11

Lieutenant Terzi, scattered. And they were in

43:13

sick jungles. Tom could have scattered.

43:15

He did not. He stood

43:17

at his ground with a submachine gun and

43:19

he blasted them to pieces and losing his

43:21

life. Tom stood at his ground.

43:23

He stood at his ground. He could have scattered. And

43:25

what he did was he tied up those... The

43:28

members of the Kuma Battalion because they

43:30

were so mad because they thought they

43:32

had run in to the main line

43:34

of the Marines. They didn't realize it

43:36

was a lifting coast because of the fight

43:39

they put up. What they did for quite some

43:41

time was go up and down the Teneru River.

43:43

Now of course Tom by that time had lost

43:45

his life. But the other ones had gotten

43:48

into the Teneru River and there

43:51

were banyan trees with huge giant

43:53

trunks. And the Japanese were going

43:55

up and down both sides of

43:57

the river yelling and screaming and

43:59

firing. The water. And

44:01

sewage, How the month. That. Game the

44:03

rest of the three platoon, it was

44:06

strung out there. From an iron bottom

44:08

sounds to the three hundred and fifty.

44:10

Yards. Of nothingness. Single.

44:13

File that gave them have a chance

44:15

to put up. Machine gun

44:17

emplacements on either side of the overlay and

44:19

trail. You He felt so connected to

44:21

Tom the she wanted to help memorialize him

44:23

further. My son he slew of

44:26

American flag over the capital and

44:28

on it honor of times and

44:30

gave me. Or the flag in

44:32

in the case. For. My birthday

44:34

and then for Christmas one year

44:36

he gave me all time record.

44:40

Everything and I had the picture of

44:42

him from when he first signed up

44:44

in January of Nineteen Forty Two, so

44:46

I knew. Wow. So

44:48

how do you feel so connected to and. That's

44:51

what I'll tell you and not on the pad. Yes,

44:54

That. Is the story they have? Yes, I'll

44:56

tell. You if summer Yes you

44:58

usually prepared food be repaired next

45:01

my husband and prepared I think

45:03

I am. You have bomb this

45:05

type of connection with other on

45:08

veterans who know. And how he's

45:10

he's one of a time. I'll tell you

45:12

you can find that out. one. Judean Day!

45:14

Want to come up to Boston to see Bleary

45:16

Square and meet with us? I can't wait! When

45:19

I got all the letters. That. You're

45:21

great Grandmother had written and the

45:24

heartache and I think he really

45:26

died of a broken heart and

45:28

he just wouldn't accept that he

45:30

was gone because she had nobody.

45:33

And I wondered if Judy thought there was any

45:35

chance to located Tom after all these years. The

45:37

city's unrecoverable, but you know what

45:40

I said and said angelina. I'm

45:42

going to give it a shot if I can find go

45:44

with the. Maybe I can

45:46

find where is it? and I think I

45:49

know. I looked at all the report and

45:51

forty six than forty nine where they went

45:53

over there and a lot of the A

45:55

D jungle has been cut down. It's fine

45:57

now. Tom. woods pounds

50:00

Jabo Mixter, Tom and me. We

50:02

did not stay inside the wire, we set

50:04

up about 100 yards outside the wire. Sometime

50:07

during the night we heard a clanking noise. Then

50:09

we could see the Japanese all lined against

50:12

the sky. They were between us

50:14

and our lines. Our listening post

50:16

became an ambush post as we opened

50:18

fire on the Japanese. All

50:21

hell broke loose and our listening post

50:23

became every man for himself. We

50:25

had ambushed a Japanese battalion getting ready to

50:27

assault our line. Lieutenant Terzi and I wound

50:30

up in a creek behind us and spent

50:32

all night in water up to our necks.

50:34

We managed to make it back to our line the next

50:36

morning. One man made it back

50:38

that night. Lawrence.

50:41

Mixter didn't return for four days. Jabo was

50:43

picked up by Eye Company and made it

50:45

to Walk Point. Tom was the only

50:47

one who didn't make it. This all happened

50:49

on the night of September 13th. Lieutenant

50:52

Terzi and I were sent to a field hospital with

50:54

our wounds. And when I came back to the company

50:56

they told me that Tom had been found on the

50:58

17th of September. I believe I'm the

51:00

sole survivor of that lookout post. Terzi

51:02

was KIA'd on Cape Closter. Again,

51:04

I was by his side. Mixter

51:07

was killed in action on Guam. Tom

51:09

died a hero, Francis, because

51:12

the firefight alerted K company to

51:14

a sure victory for the Japanese

51:16

against Henderson Field. Sincerely,

51:18

Leo McDermott, December 5th. And

51:22

this next letter was written to

51:24

my great-grandmother Angelina. And was

51:26

written by Lieutenant Joe Terzi, who was also

51:28

with Tom the night he died. Meaningless

51:47

sounds, incapable of expressing our

51:49

true feelings. Such

51:51

is the case now. I'm not writing

51:53

this, not for myself, but for all

51:55

of Tom's buddies and officers. All who

51:57

knew him. Had nothing but admiration

51:59

for his fearlessness and for those qualities

52:01

which made him a man in the

52:03

fullest sense of the word. I

52:06

could go on and on in enumerating his

52:08

splendid attributes, but I know that you, his

52:10

mother, need not be told what

52:12

a good boy he was. We

52:14

his comrades and arms can do little

52:16

more than offer our most heartfelt condolences.

52:19

I personally feel satisfied that Tom is in

52:21

a better place than this world of turmoil

52:23

and strife. Tom

52:26

often confided in me, and his

52:28

prime consideration was for you, his

52:31

mother. He would be unhappy

52:33

if he knew you were mourning, so please

52:35

remember that, and bear your sorrow with courage

52:37

and pride for so gallant a sun, and

52:39

some day in the hereafter you will be

52:42

united in the blissful realms of heaven. Tom

52:45

though he went quickly and didn't suffer,

52:47

died, and buried a hero in the

52:49

eyes of his commanding officer and fellow

52:51

marines. His memory will live

52:54

with us forever, and we shall never forget

52:56

him in our prayers. Again

52:59

let me offer our sincere condolences.

53:02

May God bless you both. Keep

53:04

your faith forever, yours in sympathy,

53:06

Joseph A. Terzi. P.S.

53:08

if the occasion should present itself, you can rest assured

53:10

that I will pay you a visit at your home.

53:13

Tom was one of my best men, and you

53:15

may well feel proud of his heroic death. Regrettably,

53:19

Lt. Terzi was killed in action

53:21

at Cape Gloucester shortly after writing

53:23

this. I

53:29

just want to say I love that

53:31

Judy and Dave feel this connection with

53:34

Tom Pelerie. I just love it. It

53:36

warms my heart. He was a

53:38

hero. Here we are now in

53:40

the holiday season, and I can't help thinking

53:42

about Tom, family ghosts,

53:45

Angelina, and Honey. My

53:48

grandfather, Frank Pelerie. I

53:50

don't exactly know what Judy's connection is

53:52

with Tom and my family, but I

53:56

can wait in finding out. I know that. And

53:58

I just love that they brought me and my family

54:00

closer to Tom and all their hard work

54:03

has led me to put this episode out

54:05

and to try and share Tom's story as

54:07

far as I possibly can. So thank

54:10

you Judy and thank you Dave and

54:12

thank you to Frank Pilari, my father

54:15

and my grandfather and step-grandmother Sandy Pilari.

54:17

Thanks to Sarah Scheckles who lent her

54:19

a fabulous voice and my

54:21

friend G. Larry Butler for lending his voice

54:24

for Leo McDermott. Larry's a veteran himself. And

54:26

before we go I just want to share

54:29

one last story that Dave told me about

54:31

his work with veterans. I'll give you a

54:33

quick marine story. Maybe it'll put you in

54:35

the mind of maybe how

54:38

Thomas would be known. We had

54:40

a few World War II Marines on one

54:43

of the buses with us on a particular trip. They

54:45

were Iwo Jima veterans. This veteran

54:48

was with his guardian and he

54:50

was in a wheelchair. He couldn't

54:52

walk very well. He couldn't stand up very

54:54

well. He was in his 90s. You can

54:57

either take these steps up to it or

54:59

there's a ramp that kind of goes around

55:01

to wheel a wheelchair up to it. So

55:03

he got the veteran in the wheelchair and started heading

55:05

up and the veteran told him

55:07

to stop.

55:10

He wanted to get out and walk up

55:12

to the memorial but he

55:15

really couldn't. He said I landed on

55:17

this beach. I'm

55:20

not gonna get wheeled up to this memorial. Two

55:24

guardians got him by the arms and

55:26

they slowly walked him up to that memorial.

55:29

And to see that it's just amazing.

55:31

He didn't want to be an old

55:34

man being at that memorial.

55:38

So he didn't want to go in the wheelchair and

55:40

he had other guys on his mind too I'm sure.

55:45

So that's just how some of the Marines are. This

55:49

episode was written and produced by me Tim Pelerie.

55:51

It's a story many years in the

55:53

making and it's not over yet. Please

55:56

follow us on social media and if you'd

55:58

like to contact me directly you can

56:01

email Tim at crawlspacepodcast.com.

56:04

Thanks a lot for listening. Hey

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