Melvin Dodson rarely spoke of his own reported death.
His sister, Helena Dodson, was 10 years old when Claysburg's undertaker knocked on the door shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 67 years ago Sunday.
"Inky," as his family called him, was at Hickam Field when Japanese bombers stormed Hawaii. The undertaker told the family that Melvin was missing in action.
The Dodsons could only wait.
News of casualties moved slowly during World War II. Many local families waited weeks before learning the fate of loved ones.
The wait for the Dodsons seemed to end four days after the bombing.
"Melvin Jesse Dodson loses life in Japanese attack upon Hickam Field," read the headline in the Altoona Mirror the afternoon of Dec. 11, 1941.
There was always a parent's hope of a mistake, but that chance seemed dashed by a three-sentence clarification issued by the War Department two days later. It still said Melvin Dodson, 20, was dead, but noted his honorable discharge Sept. 6, 1941.
He had been at Hickam Field working for a private company.
"My mother had a nervous breakdown," said Helena Dodson, who still lives in Claysburg. "People came to our house. It was terrible. We lost a member of our family."
Egbert Dodson surprised his family, saying he did not want his son's body returned to Blair County.
"Dad served in World War I and said, 'You don't know whose body you're getting,'" Helena Dodson said.
As the family grieved, they didn't know that Melvin was writing them. His letter wouldn't arrive for more than a week.
Meanwhile, his grave marker was placed among others in Hawaii, and he was recognized in Life magazine as killed in action at Pearl Harbor. Helena Dodson remembers the family doctor visited the house because the whole thing made her mother sick.
Then there was another knock on the door. This one came Dec. 23, more than two weeks after the bombing. It was a post office employee with a letter. It was an odd visit because mail wasn't delivered to their house. The postal employee handed the envelope to Maude Dodson.
"I feel this is important," Helena remembers postal employee Grace Baker said. Baker departed, leaving the mother alone with Helena and her two brothers. Helena remembers the sight of her mother reading silently. Finally, she read aloud.
"Here's hoping this finds you all well and good. This leaves me fine and dandy. Don't worry about me. If anything happens to me, you'll be notified."
Seconds passed that seemed like hours, bringing doubt of the letter's authenticity, or a possibility it was written before the bombings. It was hard to believe, but Melvin's writing ended with a mention of losing all of his belongings in the bombings.
"We just couldn't believe it," Helena Dodson said. "She just kept reading it over and over. She said that was his signature and everything."
Her father came home that afternoon, and it started all over.
Melvin later told his family that a similar serial number lead to the misidentification of a soldier who really died. If Dodson knew the soldier, Helena said he never spoke of that person.
The Army didn't respond to a request to discuss the incident.
Dodson remained in Hawaii for years, but he did return to visit in the months that followed the bombings. When his girlfriend, Mabel E. Walter, refused to move west with him, he settled in Claysburg.
His extended family knew of Melvin's service, but the incident of his "death" became something of a secret. It fell into the category of a war story seldom repeated.
Helena said her brother had a picture of his grave marker at Hickam Field. His wife refused to look at it and didn't want it shown to others. The silence served a purpose, but it also made the magnitude of the incident hard to appreciate for the younger generation.
Diana Dively said she knew of her uncle's experience, but mostly remembers him as one of her favorite uncles. She said "Inky" always gave her spending money while she attended college.
Dively today still lives in Blair County. Looking back, she says she really didn't understand the importance of what happened until she married.
"My husband and I went on a honeymoon to Hawaii. That's when it really sunk in," she said. "I really didn't understand the importance of it until we went on our honeymoon."
Melvin parted with the military after his marriage. He worked as a machinist for General Refractories in Claysburg until his retirement in 1985, while also serving as Greenfield Township's tax collector. He and Mabel Dodson lived a quiet life in Claysburg. They never had children and were married until her death in 1995.
On Aug. 14, 2001, another death notice for Melvin J. Dodson appeared in the Altoona Mirror. He had died the previous day. The obituary includes extensive information about his family and life in Claysburg. It mentions he earned an engineering degree from the University of Hawaii and was a member of the Army Air Corps from 1939-41.
What about the story he held quietly for 60 years? It says Melvin Dodson "was a veteran of Pearl Harbor."
Mirror Staff Writer Jay Young can be reached at 946-7535.
