Bodies Of Two Local War Dead Reach States

Re-Burial Planned Here For Pfc. Robert Huff and Lt. Robert Bates

Bodies of two Ann Arbor youths, Pfc. Robert B. Huff and Lt. Robert I. Bates, killed in action during the war in the Pacific, have been returned to San Francisco aboard the Army transport Cardinal O’ Connell.
Pfc. Huff, the 18-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Huff of 2375 Newport Rd., was killed Sept. 14, 1942, with a Marine Corps unit on Guadalcanal.
He withdrew from Ann Arbor High School to enlist in the Marines in September, 1941, and during his training in the United States won citations as an expert marksman.
Pfc. Huff was first reported as having been killed on Aug. 7 while participating with a volunteer group attacking the Japs on Tulagi.
Subsequent letters from Robert to his parents, however, saying he was alive and well—dated Aug. 26, Sept. 1 and Sept. 10—were received. But the Huffs’ joy that the original death report was erroneous were short-lived when their son was listed as killed in action Sept. 14. This was confirmed in a letter from the commanding officer of the Marine unit.
Lt. Bates, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Irvin Bates of 313 Westwood Ave., was killed Sept. 19, 1944, in action over China. He had been a cargo transport pilot based in India.
The flier had graduated from Ann Arbor High School in June, 1942, and was a second semester freshman at the University at the time of his induction into the Armed Forces. He took his flight training in Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi and received his wings at Bowman Field, Ky.
The remains of the two local men will be shipped to the Chicago Quartermaster Depot, accompanied by a military escort. Pending the arrival of the caskets in Ann Arbor, expected within the next three to five weeks, no funeral arrangements have been announced.

IMAGE TEXT: HERO WAR DEAD TO BE RE-BURIED: Remains of two local youths, Lt. Robert I Bates (left) and Pfc. Robert B. Huff (right), who were killed in action in the Pacific, were returned this week to San Francisco aboard the Army transport Cardinal O’Connell. The caskets of the war heroes were expected to arrive in Ann Arbor in about five weeks for re-burial here.