Corporal Matson, one of Merrill's Marauders, remains identified and returning home

After more than 80 years, a Logan County war hero is finally coming home. U.S. Army Corporal Kenneth Matson of Man has been identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and will be laid to rest with full military honors. Matson served with the famed Merrill’s Marauders, an elite World War II jungle warfare unit that carried out dangerous long-range missions behind Japanese lines in Burma. He was killed in action on June 28, 1944, during the Burma Campaign. Public visitation will be held Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Krantz-McNeely Funeral Home in Man, with graveside services scheduled July 9 at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Pecks Mill.

WVOW News

MAN  One of Merrill’s Marauders has been identified by the POW/MIA Accounting Agency and now the remains of Corporal Kenneth Matson will receive a proper homecoming this week.

Matson was born July 14, 1922 in Man. He joined the army and volunteered for one of the most elite and demanding combat units of World War II, the 5307^th Composite Unit (Provisional), better known as Merrill’s Marauders. Organized under the command of Brigadier General Frank Merrill, the American jungle commando unit was formed for long-range penetration missions deep behind Japanese lines.

Cpl. Matson served with the 3rd Battalion of this specialized force during the Burma Campaign. In early 1944, the Marauders were committed to operations in northern Burma, where they conducted a series of grueling marches and engagements through dense jungle, steep mountain terrain, and disease-ridden environments. The unit fought as part of the Allied effort to disrupt Japanese supply lines and seize a strategic airfield in northern Burma.

By the spring and summer of 1944, the battle for the airfield had become one of the most difficult with entrenched Japanese forces, extreme weather conditions, and severe shortages of food and medical support, the Marauders continued their mission under extraordinary hardship. It was in this area that Cpl. Kenneth Matson was killed in action on June 28, 1944.

Their efforts contributed significantly to the eventual Allied success in northern Burma and the reopening of supply routes to China.

The DPAA continues efforts to identify remains of unknowns temporarily interred  at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Corporal Matson was accounted for on April 22, 2025.

A public visitation is set to be conducted this Friday from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Krantz McNeely Funeral Home in Man.

Corporal Matson’s procession to Man is a tentative schedule. The precession is expected to pass Chapmanville this Thursday night around 11:30 p.m.; Logan at 11:48p.m. and finally to Man Thursday night around midnight.

Graveside services are scheduled for July 9^th  at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Pecks Mill with full military honors. After more than 8 decades, this war hero from Logan County can now rest.

PHOTO | Krantz McNeely Funeral Home