{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://roby.house.gov/press-release/found-wwii-pilot-be-laid-rest-montgomery-saturday", "Found WWII Pilot to be Laid to Rest in Montgomery Saturday", "2014-12-31", "2014", "2014-12", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Martha Roby", "R000591", "roby.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "MONTGOMERY, Ala. \u2013 An Alabama World War II pilot who was missing for decades after his plane went down on Guadalcanal Island will finally be laid to rest this week with full military honors.\nMaj. Peyton Mathis, Jr., commander of the 44th Fighter Squadron, will be buried in his hometown of Montgomery, Ala. Saturday, January 3rd. He was 28 years old on June 5, 1944 when the P-38J Lightning he was piloting went down over Guadalcanal Island after returning from a mission.\u00a0\nRescue and recovery attempts at the time of the crash were unsuccessful due to the heavy jungle. It wasn\u2019t until 2013, when local islanders informed Department of Defense crews of a nearby crash site, that the downed P-38 was found, Maj. Mathis still strapped into the cockpit.\u00a0\nWhen Peyton Mathis III, Maj. Mathis\u2019 nephew, learned his uncle\u2019s lost plane and remains had possibly been found, he contacted U.S. Representative Martha Roby\u2019s office for help expediting the identification and return process. Maj. Mathis\u2019 widow, Evelyn, is now in her 90s, and the family understandably wanted the remains to be identified and returned as soon as possible.\u00a0\nThe Pearl Harbor-based Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) is a special\u00a0Department of Defense division whose mission is to bring America\u2019s fallen soldiers home, no matter how long it takes and no matter the cost.\u00a0When JPAC learns of possible remains, it deploys a team of researchers and scientists. From the jungles of Vietnam, the deserts of North Africa, or the depths of the Pacific Ocean, \u00a0these recovery missions require complex diplomacy and can be difficult and dangerous.\nIn the case of Maj. Mathis, JPAC crews worked with local police to gain custody of the remains, which were sent to a special laboratory for DNA testing. Researchers used various forensic tools, including DNA provided by the family, to finally confirm Maj. Mathis\u2019 remains.\u00a0\nRep. Roby thanked the Mathis\u00a0family, JPAC, and all others who played a part in ensuring this fallen airman was returned home.\u00a0\n \n\t\u201c70 years ago, a brave pilot from Montgomery, Alabama went down in the\u00a0jungles of the Pacific trying to save the lives of his fellow airmen,\u201d Rep. Roby said.\u00a0\u201cThose who witnessed it said Maj. Mathis was circling the airfield, allowing the planes in his command to land safely, even though he was running low on fuel.\n\t\u201cIt has taken decades, but Major Mathis is finally returning home to Montgomery to be laid to rest alongside his father and brother.\u00a0I\u00a0appreciate the\u00a0diligent efforts of the Mathis family, JPAC, and local islanders to find, identify, and return Major Mathis, and\u00a0I was honored for my office to play a small role in seeing a fallen hero laid to rest.\n\t\u201cStories like this are what makes our country great, because no other country does this.\u00a0The United States is the only nation in the world that devotes such resources to the mission of bringing our lost servicemen home. No matter how long it takes, no matter how much it costs, we are going to bring our fallen home.\u00a0\n\t\u201cLike so many in his generation, Major Peyton Mathis, Jr. made the\u00a0ultimate\u00a0sacrifice fighting to defend this country and preserve the very freedom we enjoy today. This week, he will be laid to rest with the full military honors he deserves. I hope his story will serve as a reminder of the sacrifices our\u00a0military\u00a0personnel and their families have made over the years, and still make today.\"\u00a0\n \nMore information on Maj. Mathis is available from the Department of Defense Prisoner of War / Missing Personnel Office at\u00a0https://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/news/news_releases/2014/documents/release_mathis.pdf.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://roby.house.gov/press-release/found-wwii-pilot-be-laid-rest-montgomery-saturday"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5637930482625961, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}