Moley-So there I am 9 years old and standing on the middle floor looking over the banister and saw something out of the corner of my eye. I turned only to be confronted by a a soldier dressed in full Roundhead battle dress. If was so vivid, not frightening but intriguing. We stood facing each other, he saluted and then drifted away.
I believe you. In my experience, and my opinion. ( I have a feeling some here will discredit it and not believe what Im about to say but its just my own experience )
I have definitely had the pleasure of my mind playing tricks on me and creating an image . Some were scary, some not. I can clearly look back and see that my mind was playing tricks on me.
On the other hand since I have had multiple out of body experiences( I hardly ever talk about them unless it is to someone else that has had one as well) the reason I bring that up is because while out of my body(which was the second thing that made me question the jw doctrine/ like.. I never was the same after, but hadn't even begun to deprogram or learn ttatt) that said... I can totally see how energy can get trapped outside the body when one dies. In fact, it was what made me pull back into my body during those experiences.
Energy, its all around us. Through us,in us. When we die I can only hope my 'energy' or 'soul' or 'essence' if you will, will just disperse into things around it. It would not be fun in my opinion to be 'crystallized' in energy. I think a sudden traumatic death can do this.
However in these experiences I have felt an extreme amount of calm and peace.
How does that relate to your story. Well it could very well be that the solder died traumatically and is/was ( I say was ) because I worked with a couple of people that would release the energy of Ghosts, if you will , though I don't like using that term, in their crystallized state. Allowing the trapped, stuck, energy to disperse.
So to me its possible that could have been it and you did see a soldier.
On the other hand you said that the the elders came and talked to you and looked around your home. I assume you didn't see the solder again?
Then one could argue that if you didn't, then it could have been the imagination of a child, but I disagree with that under certain circumstances. Children are much more in tune than adults can be due to all the mental baggage we accumulate.
I could go on and on but I just wanted to say I think its highly possible that you saw what you saw.
Here is a physicist and mathematician site addressing energy in our bodies after death and while living. It doesnt have much to say in terms of backing up my own claim, but the comments do. And I always like to pick apart things scientifically. Im not afraid of being wrong or gaining more insight on a subject.I like to understand the opposing view as much as possible.
http://www.askamathematician.com/2012/11/q-if-energy-is-neither-created-nor-destroyed-what-happens-to-the-energy-within-our-bodies-and-brains-when-we-die/
And here is another site that goes the other way. Sort of like my own belief and experience.
https://www.gaia.com/article/spirits-101-whos-visiting-you
Just my 2 cents.