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Floor Speech

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Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life, service, and long-awaited homecoming of Private Luther Leru ``Dusty'' Rhodes of Edneyville, Henderson County, NC, a U.S. marine who gave his life in defense of our Nation during World War II.

Luther Rhodes was born in Edneyville on March 22, 1924, and raised on his family's farm in the Blue Ridge, Appalachian Mountains alongside nine brothers and sisters.

From an early age, Luther learned the values of hard work, devotion to family, responsibility to others, values that shaped the man that he would become and guided his decision to serve his country.

At just 17 years old, Luther was determined to enlist. After receiving his father's permission, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps on November 11, 1941--just weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He completed recruit training at Parris Island and was assigned to L Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division at New River-- now Camp Lejeune--NC.

In late May 1942, Private Rhodes deployed to New Zealand and soon thereafter took part in the amphibious landings on Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942--the first major American offensive of the war in the Pacific. His unit captured Henderson Field and then endured months of sustained, often brutal combat, including Bloody Ridge and battles along the Matanikau River.

During this period, Luther became known among his fellow Marines as the Kid and by the nickname ``Dusty.'' He was young and slight, with light blond hair and a boyish face, but he demonstrated courage and resolve beyond his years. He earned the respect of the men with whom he served.

On the night of October 7, 1942, during the Third Battle of the Matanikau, Japanese forces attempted to break through marine lines. In the darkness and confusion of that engagement, Luther Rhodes was killed in action. He was 18 years old.

His fellow marines recovered his body the following morning. One of them, Lawrence ``Hardrock'' Gerkin, who had taken Luther under his wing, was informed personally of the young marine's death. When Gerkin saw Luther's body wrapped in a poncho, he was overcome with grief. He ordered the men carrying him to handle him with care. Decades later, those who witnessed that moment still recalled how Luther's blond hair appeared alongside the battlefield.

But the chaos of the war and the movement of his remains afterward created lasting uncertainty. Luther's body was buried in a temporary Marine cemetery on Guadalcanal, but his remains were never returned home. In 1949, he was declared permanently nonrecoverable.

His parents wrote to the Marine Corps in 1946, pleading for information and expressing their hope that their son could one day be returned to the United States for his final resting place.

Their youngest son Marvin grew up never knowing his brother. Luther died when Marvin was just 6 months old. For decades, Marvin searched for answers. He submitted DNA. He attended briefings. He followed every lead that he could, and eventually he lost hope that his brother would ever be found.

Then, last year--in 2025--the phone rang. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency had identified Luther Rhodes from remains buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Advances in DNA technology had finally made it possible.

After 83 years, Luther was coming home.

For the people of Henderson County, that news meant something deep. It meant a son of the mountains who left home as a teenager to serve his country was finally coming back to the hills that raised him.

Next weekend, Luther Rhodes will be laid to rest at Edneyville United Methodist Church, near his parents and siblings, in the soil they prayed he would one day return to--back in the Appalachian Mountains, among his own people.

That identification came through persistence, careful research, and an unwavering commitment to the principle that no American servicemember should ever be forgotten. It came through the extraordinary work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. It came through the advocacy of the Hedrick-Rhodes VFW Post 5206 in Hendersonville. It came through the determination of family members and community leaders who refused to abandon the search.

To Marvin Rhodes and the entire Rhodes family, the people of North Carolina honor your brother. We honor your sacrifice, and we are grateful that Luther is finally coming home.

I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring Private Luther Leru ``Dusty'' Rhodes, U.S. Marine Corps, and in reaffirming our commitment to never cease our efforts to account for those who remain missing in action.

May God bless the memory of Luther Rhodes, and may God bless the United States of America.

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