WWII soldier's remains return to Butte after eight decades overseas

UPDATE: April 15 at 11:00 p.m.

The remains of Private Harry Bordner returned to Butte Wednesday night after more than 80 years.

At 6:30 p.m., a C-130 carrying Bordner's body landed at Bert Mooney Airport.

A funeral service for Bordner is scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m. at Saint Ann's Catholic Church followed by a procession and burial with full military honors at Butte's Mountain View Cemetery.

The public is invited to pay respects during the procession as it traveles south on Harrison Avenue.

Butte, Mont. — Butte will welcome home the remains of World War II Army Private Henry David Bordner on Wednesday, April 15, following his identification decades after he was killed in Japanese captivity during the war.

Bordner was born in Butte on December 17, 1917. He was taken prisoner of war by Japanese forces during World War II and died on October 20, 1942, at the Cabanatuan Prisoner Camp after the Bataan Death March.

He was buried in a mass grave at the camp cemetery. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency later identified his remains and accounted for him on April 2, 2025.

His remains are expected to arrive between 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday. An honor line will be set up on Airport Road and a coordinator will be notified when the military aircraft carrying his remains is in the air.

Bordner’s internment is scheduled for around noon on Friday, April 17, at Mountain View Cemetery with full military honors.

Tom Goyette of the United Veterans Council Honor Guard said people who want to honor Bordner can line Harrison Avenue as the aircraft arrives.

ORIGINAL COVERAGE: April 13 at 12:45 p.m.