Hero comes home
Services held for Robert Goldsworthy Saturday
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SCHOOLCRAFT TOWNSHIP - After nearly 82 years, a local soldier has finally returned home to the Copper Country. Sergeant Robert James Goldsworthy, a Lake Linden native long listed by the U.S. Army as missing in action during World War II, was laid to rest Saturday morning.
The graveside service was held with full military honors at Maple Hill Cemetery, just outside of town. Members of the American Legion Williams-Giroux Post 90 of Lake Linden conducted the moving service and served as the honor guard, rendering a final salute to the fallen infantryman.
For Goldsworthy's surviving family, the day brought an end to generations of uncertainty. His nephew, Dale Mukavetz, described the burial as a deeply bittersweet moment.
"It is a sad, yet happy occasion," Mukavetz said. "His mother is buried nearby, and she would be so happy to have him back."
Goldsworthy's mother, Elizabeth, waited more than a year to learn anything about her son. Mukavetz shared a letter written on Betsey's behalf in the spring of 1946, formalizing a mother’s agonizing quest for answers that would ultimately take eight decades to resolve. In the letter, addressed to the Veterans Administration, dated April 8, 1946, the family pleaded for clarification on his status.
"He (Robert) was killed in action on Dec. 17, 1944 in Germany," the letter states. "The mother has never at any time [received] any word as to where her son is buried even though she read a letter stating that she would eventually get that information. Any word pertaining to Robert's burial would be greatly appreciated by his mother."
A response came from the military more than half a decade later, in September 1952, stating:
"It is with deep regret that your Government finds it necessary to inform you that further search and investigation have failed to reveal the whereabouts of your son's remains.
"Realizing the extent of your great loss, it is with reluctance that you are sent the information that there is no grave at which to pay homage. May the knowledge of your son's honorable service to his country be a source of sustaining comfort to you."
Betsey never did receive the answers she sought. Goldsworthy, born on June 5, 1922, was killed in action on December 17, 1944, during combat on high ground northeast of Reinheim, Germany, while serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 320th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division.
In January 1949, Graves Registration Service teams returned to that area and interviewed local residents, including the Burgomaster of Reinheim and a local priest, the DPAA reported. They learned that several American soldiers killed in the battle had been buried in the Gersheim Cemetery, about a mile and a half northeast of Reinheim, before later being exhumed and reinterred as unknowns at the Lorraine American Cemetery in Saint-Avold, France.
Not until September 2025 did the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announce that Goldsworthy's remains--resting under a cross marked “Unknown” in France--had been positively identified using modern forensic science.
Robert Goldsworthy has finally been accounted for. He was honored for his service and ultimate sacrifice, and is now permanently buried next to his sister, Gladys E. (Goldsworthy) Mukavetz, at Maple Hill Cemetery.
Gloria Arndt, Goldsworthy's niece, noted that Robert was her mother's older brother. She expressed immense relief that her uncle has finally been returned to his hometown. "I think it's amazing," she said. "I really do."