A Marine gunnery sergeant assigned here received perhaps the most critical call to duty he’s had since joining the Corps 19 years ago – to escort the remains of a World War II veteran who was listed as a prisoner of war and missing in action for more than 73 years.

Gunnery Sgt. Melvin G. Ashley, company first sergeant, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga., served as the escort for the remains of Marine Pfc. James O. Whitehurst, a resident of Ashford, Ala.

Ashley escorted Whitehurst’s remains from Hawaii to Tallahassee, Fla. on April 18, and then to Glover Funeral Home in Dothan, Ala., in advance of a grave-side funeral in Cowarts, Ala., on April 19.

Whitehurst was killed in 1943 during a Japanese attack on the island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Island, while assigned to Echo Company, 2^nd Battalion, 8^th Marines, 2^nd Marine Division, according to historical records.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency indicates Whitehurst died on the first day of battle, November 20, 1943.

Following the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island. In 1946 and 1947, the 604^th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio, but Whitehurst’s remains were not recovered.

In June 2015, History Flight, Inc., a nongovernmental organization, discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered remains of some 35 Marines believed to have fought in Tarawa.

To identify Whitehurst’s remains, scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.

The WWII Marine vet had been unaccounted for since his death.

“It’s a very humbling experience and an honor to bring him back home,” Ashley said. “I knew it was going to be a high-visibility event, so I wanted to make sure everything was done correctly so the family could have closure. It needed to be picture perfect because that is what he deserved.”

“The reality of it all didn’t set in until I reviewed his remains,” Ashley continued. “It was at that moment I realized the magnitude of this assignment. When I showed up at the funeral home to inspect the remains, I made sure the uniform was perfect, to include the presentation of his ribbons.”

What struck the Marine gunnery sergeant even harder was how he was received by Whitehurst’s family when he met them.

“I thought I was going to be perceived as just the escort,” Ashley said, “you know, just a handshake and a ‘thanks for bringing him home.’ I thought I had done my duty and that was going to be the end of it … but that is not what happened.

“It was hugs and tears,” he explained. “We had a lot of good conversations about him. It was a welcoming experience. It was almost like I was part of their family.”

Ashley and other Marines attached with the MCLB Albany funeral detail team carried Whitehurst’s remains to his final resting place at Cowarts Baptist Church Cemetary in Cowarts, Ala.

“This, by far, is one of my greatest achievements as a Marine,” Ashley said. “To have been given the privilege to bring a fallen Marine home from World War II was incredibly humbling. I feel as if he, in an unexplainable way, was the one escorting me … and not the other way around.”