Soldier returning home after 84 years following a DNA match

Soldier returning home after 84 years following a DNA match Robert DuBois survived the Bataan Death March but later died in Japanese POW camp Advertisement Updated: 11:23 PM CST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ John Rupolo Reporter Soldier returning home after 84 years following a DNA match Robert DuBois survived the Bataan Death March but later died in Japanese POW camp Updated: 11:23 PM CST Nov 12, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ John Rupolo Reporter The remains of U.S. Army Pvt. Robert Dubois, who died in a Japanese prison camp during World War II, have been identified and are returning to New Mexico after 84 years. For his niece, Patsy Gutierrez, the discovery has been an emotional experience. Advertisement Video above: Untold story of German-American WWII soldier "Because I wish that his siblings and his parents could be here to see this," Gutierrez said. Dubois’s parents and eight siblings died without seeing his remains come home. Dubois joined the Army and was deployed to the Philippines, where he was captured on April 9, 1942, after the Bataan Peninsula fell to Japanese forces. He endured the brutal 65-mile Bataan Death March and was later interned at the infamous Cabanatuan prison camp. He died there on July 4, 1942, at the age of 24 from malnutrition. "When I think about what has happened to him, could I have survived that? I doubt it," Gutierrez said. After the war, Dubois never returned home. A few years later, his parents received a letter from the Army informing them of his death. 98-year-old twin Army veterans reunite after years apart in hospice care Dubois’s remains were recovered by the U.S. Army years after the war and sent to the Army’s identification lab in Hawaii, but they could not be identified at the time. Ten years ago, the Army reached out to Gutierrez, asking for a DNA sample to help identify Dubois’s remains. Three months ago, she received confirmation that the remains were a match. "I was just in shock for, you know, just in awe that they had found his body," Gutierrez said. The Army posthumously awarded Dubois the Bronze Star for valor and the Purple Heart. He will be laid to rest this weekend at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Albuquerque, New Mexico, next to his mother and father. "He's home at last, and that's what makes me happy, that I'm still alive to see it," Gutierrez said. House approves bill to boost compensation for many veterans, with some floor drama Make WISN a preferred source on Google Add Preferred Source Share Infinite Scroll Enabled Top Picks VIDEO: Frankie Muniz says he's recovering after crash at Daytona International Speedway Newly released Ring camera shows Brooklyn building collapsing WATCH: Master carver engraves crystals from last year's New Year's Eve ball Anthony Clark, a comedian and actor who starred on 'Yes, Dear,' dies