Wood County soldier finally coming home

WOOD COUNTY – A Wood County man who went missing during World War II will finally be laid to rest this month in Rudolph.
On Jan. 5, 2026, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Pvt. Elmer F. Blonien, who went missing in the Philippine Islands during World War II.
Blonien was born on May 17, 1915, to John & Katherine Blonien, and the family moved to the Wood County town of Rudolph in 1930.
Elmer worked in several businesses his family owned in Rudolph until he was drafted.
On April 7, 1941, he was inducted into the U. S. Army.

“Blonien served with Company A the 192nd Tank Battalion, which was stationed in the Philippines during World War II,” a DPAA release stated.
“He was captured following the American surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, and forced on the Bataan Death March.
“He was ultimately interned in the notorious Cabanatuan Prison Camp in Nueva Ecija Province, where he died on Nov. 15, 1942.”
Family members said that his death was due to a splenic abscess after undergoing a splenectomy in the Prisoner of War camp, without proper medical supplies.
“At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war who were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan,” the DPAA release added. “Conditions at the camp were poor, with food and water extremely limited, leading to widespread malnutrition and outbreaks of malaria and dysentery.
“By the time the camp was liberated in early 1945, approximately 2,800 Americans had died at Cabanatuan.
“Blonien was buried in Common Grave No. 721 at the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery along with other deceased American POWs. Following the war, American Graves Registration Service personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and relocated the remains to a temporary U.S. military mausoleum near Manila.
“In 1947, the AGRS examined remains from Common Grave 721. The 10 sets of remains which could not be identified at the time were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial as Unknowns.
“In 2019, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, the unidentified remains associated with Common Grave 721 were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for scientific analysis. The laboratory analysis and total circumstantial evidence available identified one set of these unknown remains as those of Blonien.
“He had a deep love for his family and would often talk about them to other POWs telling how much he loved his family, as well as the local people living in Rudolph. After World War II ended, two POW survivors visited Elmer’s parents in Rudolph to report that they witnessed his death and burial in a common grave with 14 other dead bodies. This was very emotionally painful for his parents to hear about his suffering and disgraceful burial,” Blonien’s recent obituary stated.
In tribute to Blonien, Rudolph’s American Legion Post No. 485 changed its name to the Elmer F. Blonien Post.
A memorial service will be held on July 24 at 11 a.m. at St. Philips the Apostle Church in Rudolph.
Following the service, a U. S. Army burial will take place at All Souls Cemetery, Rudolph, officiated by a firing squad from Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.