Part of Matthews’ ashes to be scattered here

Carl Waymon Matthews

One of the CNMI’s adopted sons, Carl Waymon Matthews of Cedar Hill Texas, passed away in January this year at the ripe age of 92.

Pursuant to his final wishes, a portion of Matthews’ remains was sent to Saipan, which he considered his second home. On Thursday, June 15, 2017, a portion of Matthews’ ashes will be scattered over the cliff above San Roque.

A motorcade will depart the Hyatt Regency Saipan at 9am on Thursday, June 15, en route to the ceremony location at the San Roque entrance from the As Matuis village road.

Matthews, who took part in the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Saipan, was born on Aug. 14, 1924, in Corsicana, and passed away on Jan. 7, 2017, in the Dallas VA Hospital.

The son of Velma and Carl, Matthews attended schools in Dawson and Hubbard Texas. He joined the Marines a few days before his 17th birthday, just four months before the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. In January 1942, his unit was sent to Samoa where he spent some time in training as well as appreciating the cultures of the Pacific Islands. The following summer, he returned to the U.S. mainland as a medical patient. But this was only the beginning of his career dedicated to our freedom.

In 1944, Matthews participated in the invasion of the Marshall Islands and Saipan and was wounded on Saipan the day before the surrender of the Japanese to the U.S. He received a medical discharge in March 1945.

Since his medical discharge, Matthews returned to Samoa once and Saipan four times to pay his respects to the islands as well as those who served alongside him, and each trip was a special one. On one occasion, Matthews was a keynote speaker for the dedication of the American Memorial Museum on Saipan. Later in 2005, NHK Television Network asked him to return to Japan and Saipan to participate in a documentary commemorating the end of World War II, and Matthews gladly obliged.

Since 2007, Matthews supported all efforts of historical and genealogical research. He wrote and spoke in public forums, some of which included World War II symposiums.

A few years later in 2011, Carl Matthews was the guest of honor and speaker at the 2011 Marine Birthday Ball at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. On a final visit in 2014, Matthews returned to Saipan to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Saipan.

Thursday’s ceremony to scatter a portion of Matthews’ ashes will take place near the site where Lt. James Stanley Leary Jr. was killed on July 8, 1944. All who knew Matthews and wish to pay their final respects are welcome to join in the simple ceremony above San Roque. For more information call 287-9030. (PR)