Mystery laid to rest

A WWI vet who disappeared will be honored with a ceremony Sunday at the LaHarpe Ceremony. Melvin Raphe disappeared in 1926 after marriage and a baby. Thirty years later, his wife attempted to claim Raphe's veterans benefits and said he went by a different name until he died. Was it the same man?

May 24, 2024 - 4:01 PM

World War I veteran Melvin Raphe, at left, disappeared in 1926 after he married, had a son and moved to Indiana. The child was put up for adoption under the belief his mother died. Thirty years later, the mother attempted to claim veteran benefits for a deceased Roy Smith, right, who she claimed was really Raphe. Did Raphe change his name? Or did something happen to him? After years of searching for answers, the family will have a memorial service for Raphe in LaHarpe Sunday. Courtesy photo

Melvin Raphe, a World War I veteran whose parents are buried in LaHarpe, will be honored with a memorial service Sunday morning at the LaHarpe Cemetery.

Family members from as far as Washington, Idaho and Texas will be on hand for the service, as will representatives of the LaHarpe Veterans of Foreign Wars post for the military honors.

“The main thing we want to do is make sure Melvin is remembered,” said Brian Holloway, Raphe’s grandson. “Because he was forgotten. For 98 years, people didn’t even know he existed.”

Sunday’s service will mark the culmination of more than 35 years of research by Holloway and his three siblings, a quest that took shape after their orphaned father, Paul Holloway, died in 1988, having failed to find his birth parents.

Holloway, who lives in Spokane, spoke about the years of research that uncovered their grandfather’s identity, and the bizarre mystery that still surrounds his disappearance nearly a century later.

“It’s kind of a long story,” he warned. “And it can get a little tangled. But by the end it starts to make sense.”

MELVIN RAPHE

Melvin Leonard Raphe was born in McPherson County July 19, 1896. He enlisted in the Army in August 1914, fabricating his birth date by three years in order to qualify. He then became a part of the 137th Infantry Regiment after the United States entered World War I in 1917.

The 137th was part of the 35th Infantry Division, which fought at the Battle of Meuse Argonne in 1918.

After the war, Raphe ended up in Denver, where he met Gladys Hughes.

They married on April 10, 1925, and that fall moved to Indianapolis. (Holloway suspects in pursuit of job opportunities related to a large-scale building project.)

Gladys gave birth to a son, Paul, on Feb. 19, 1926.

From that point on, there’s no record of Melvin Raphe.

“His record comes to a dead stop,” Holloway noted. “He just disappeared.”

Did he skip town, no longer wanting to be married? Was he befallen by nefarious means?

Holloway has suspicions, but admits it’s all conjecture.

There are two big clues that Holloway suspects Melvin Raphe had then met his end.

The first was because he never filed to receive a federal bonus offered to World War I veterans.

The sum, equivalent to about $10,000 today, was enough to pique the interest of everyone who had served.

“And Melvin had written a letter to somebody telling them he’d been looking forward to it.”

But Raphe had never filed his claim.

His mother, Julia Raphe — having not heard from her son in nearly a decade — had him declared legally dead in Allen County in 1936.

“His mother realized if he was still alive, he would have claimed it,” Holloway said.

The second clue also took root in 1936, when Social Security numbers became mandatory for U.S. citizens. Like the veterans bonus, Raphe never filed to get a number.