WWI veteran receives overdue recognition

A great man who valiantly served his country. That is how Donald Brasier describes his great uncle Joseph Tardiff, who, until recently, was someone whose life and sacrifice had been lost to time and circumstances.

“We never personally knew Joseph. We didn’t know his choice of music, his style of clothing, his favorite food, or even if he had a favorite color, but by history, we do know that he was our uncle and a true patriot who loved his country and served it well,” says Don, who was among family members who gathered at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Lewiston on October 17 for a service honoring Tardiff.

Born in Lewiston in 1883, Tardiff was already a U.S. Army veteran when the United States entered World War I in 1917. Wanting to again serve his country, he reenlisted and was sent to France as part of the 23rd Infantry. Tardiff fought in the Battle of Château-Thierry, which is considered a turning point in the war. In 1918, he was wounded in action or possibly gassed. He was honorably discharged and returned home the following year, but just 10 months later, he died, possibly still suffering from the injuries he incurred during the war.

“It’s the ultimate sacrifice,” says Cheryl Brasier, a grandniece of Tardiff’s through marriage. “I don’t know if people nowadays realize that during WWI and WWII and Vietnam, they gave up a lot.”

Tardiff was buried with full military honors at St. Peter’s Cemetery on June 18, 1920, but until recently, there was no recognition that he was there. When family members visited, they couldn’t find his grave.

“We were planning a trip to Maine, so we visited the cemetery, St. Peter’s Cemetery, and we were looking for his gravesite, and it was unmarked. That really got to me. I’m a veteran. He had been lying there for 104 years, people just walking over him,” says Don, who lives in Oklahoma.

Determined to change that, Don reached out to Lisa Daigle, a family services advisor at the cemetery, who was able to find where Tardiff was buried.

“There are quite a few Joe Tardiffs, but we found it by date,” says Lisa. “Mr. Brasier was very excited, so we were able to find the location and mark it off.”

He then contacted the Department of Veterans Affairs, which verified Tardiff’s military service and provided a plaque.

The cemetery put in the plaque, and this October, family members traveled from Oklahoma, Massachusetts, and other parts of Maine for a service honoring their ancestor, placing white roses on the newly marked grave.

“It’s to recognize Joseph and just to show that we do care” says Kate Prabhaker of Mansfield, Massachusetts, a great grandniece of Tardiff’s. “To go through everything that he went through and to not even have a stone is heartbreaking. Even on Veterans Day, you have groups who go to cemeteries and put flags out, but he would not even have been recognized there, so it’s just to give him that recognition that he deserves.”

“He was lost for all these years, and now he's kind of found,” says Steve Brasier, Don’s brother, who lives in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. “He's been found, and he's getting recognized like he should for his service to this country. It just feels good to be able to do that.”

“It does feel good, doesn't it?” says Jeanne Russel, Steve and Don’s sister. “This is exciting.”

Why Tardiff never received a grave marker remains a mystery to the family, but so does much of his life. In fact, until recently, they knew little about him other than his name. That’s because their grandfather, Adelard, was given up for adoption and separated from Joseph, his older brother, at a young age. Adelard Tardiff became Delo Brasier, and while he knew he had a brother, he had no idea what became of him.

“Think of all the years that have gone by. You can understand how it got lost in the cracks. And Grampy, I don’t think he really remembered his brother. He just remembered he had a brother, but he really couldn’t tell us anything about him when we were kids,” says Steve. “So, it was never talked about. We just never talked about it.”

Online ancestry research, however, helped the family open a window to the past and discover their lost relative.

“I said, ‘This is a puzzle that has to be completed.’ It just became a passion. My wife and I and my sister and my brother, we all got involved in the search,” says Don.

“Don and my daughter [Kate] are both heavily into genealogy, so they’ve gone back generations. There was always a dead end that needed to be researched, but then they started looking and they started finding out,” says Lorne Schneider of Denmark, Maine, a cousin to Don and Steve.

Kate remembers sifting through newspapers and military records, trying to put the pieces together.

“You hear stories, but you don’t really know the truth, so we found some articles. Then we found that the last name was Tardiff. We went to the library in Lewiston and looked up some microfilm. We found some old newspapers. I got into Fold3 and found some military records of Joseph’s that way, and then we put together his military service and that he came back here, and he died on the train on the way to the hospital,” says Kate. “You find this little piece, and it opens up so many more doors, more things to explore.”

The family members say it was important to them to learn about Tardiff because family has always been important to them.

“We’ve always been a really close family. When we were kids, we were always together. On Sundays, we were always together at somebody’s house,” says Steve.

 Now separated by states and miles, they say the search for knowledge about Tardiff strengthened their bond even further.

“It was something that kind of brought us together. You would find a little thing and you would text it off — ‘Guess what I just found!’” says Kate. “We would all get all excited.”

Kate says even though she had worked with Don for years on the research, the October service at the cemetery is the first time she met him in person.

The family members say they were pleased to be able to come together to give their no-longer-lost relative the recognition he deserves.

“We celebrate grandpa being reunited with his brother today through us in this remembrance,” Don said during the service. “As the saying goes, like branches on a tree, we all grow in different directions. Yet, our roots remain as one.”

“It’s important because he was part of the family,” says Cheryl. “He counted in someone’s life, and he counted for the country.”