The Sgt. Beard case file: Family and Army connect

The following letter is in response to two articles published recently by the Reporter (Sept. 9, Oct. 15) about the missing remains of US Army Staff Sgt. Joseph W. Beard, a native of Dorchester who died in the Philippines in the early days of US involvement in World War II after he was taken off the Bataan “Death March” and brought back to a captured US fort in Manila where he died in June 1942.

To: Tom Mulvoy

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to thank you for writing your article, “Have they found Sgt. Joseph W. Beard?” in the Sept. 9 Dorchester Reporter. I am SSG Beard’s great nephew and I grew up in Hyde Park, MA. I came upon the article seemingly by chance and frankly was awestruck when I read it. My father, Joseph M. Beard (Joseph W’s nephew), grew up on Everdean Street in Dorchester; he died last February. While he was sick, he gave me SSG Beard’s Purple Heart Medal to keep safe along with a Memorial book, dedicated in memory of my Great Uncle.

When I showed your article to my brother Tom, he sent me a text back saying that it was my father taking care of unfinished business upstairs. My uncle, Phil Beard, remarkably sent almost the same text to me after I sent your article to him. Needless to say, every time I think of those texts and my father, I want to cry.

Finding your article, started a flurry of conversation and activity across connections on Facebook. My Aunt Lauren and my Uncles Mike and Phil, along with countless cousins and friends, were connecting again over this story. The fact that an 80-year-old tragedy/mystery could someday be solved is really an amazing thing. We are a family of veterans from Boston, and the thought that someday one of our lost could come home after all of these years is extremely overwhelming and joyous.

Since I read your article, some activity has taken place. I reached out directly to SFC Sean Everette at Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Public Affairs Office (this lead came from your article!!!!!). SFC Everette put me in touch with some other folks at the agency who deal with the cases directly. Yesterday, I spoke for a second time with a wonderful and kind member of the organization. She sent me a copy of SSG Beard’s MIA file, which included copies of a handwritten letter from my great grandmother; likely this is something no one outside of the federal government has ever seen.

I have registered with the agency to give a DNA sample, and additional samples will now be given by other family members in the coming weeks and months. The hope is that someday in the future, likely years from now, through some luck and some hard work by the folks at Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency, they will be able to identify our uncle’s remains and bring him home at last.

Without this article, I can’t imagine that we would have heard anything about SSG Beard’s case for many years, if ever. Please send my thanks to Earl Taylor of the Dorchester Historical Society and Jim Opolony of Bataanproject.org for their part in passing this message along to you.

My sincerest thanks go to you for writing this article. It came to us out of the blue, but given the passing of my old man, and all the emotion that goes with that, this was a real blessing. If for whatever reason, you ever find doubt in what you do, or feel as though people aren’t listening (or even writers’ block), just know that this story made a difference in the lives of a local family with deep Dorchester roots.

Respectfully,

Joe Beard
Pembroke, MA


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