Graybeards - Korean War Veterans Association

68
I went on to Camp Carson, CO for
separation on October 7, 1953. My mustering
out pay was $300, and I received
an advance payment of $100. Wow!
After leaving Camp Carson with all
that money in my pocket, I spent two
delightful days in Casper, Wyoming with
my future wife, Nancy. She was teaching
there. Being so close to Denver, this gave
me a chance to woo her in person and not
via the post office as I had done for the
previous eleven months. We had a good
time together, which gave me a chance to
see the people Nancy had been telling me
about in all those letters.
After I left Wyoming, within two days
I was back on the farm helping my Dad
pick corn. It was sure good to be home
for Mother’s ‘home cooking.’
My parents were always very positive
about the fact that that they had two sons
in the Army. Mother was a schoolteacher
who expected a job to be done right, if
not the first time, then after several more
tries. Dad was a farmer and an agriculture
economist. He had a Masters Degree
from Purdue in Agricultural Economics,
and was both Richard’s and my inspiration
for going to Purdue.
Mother wrote to one of us every week
while we were in the service. Our sister,
Carolyn, was teaching in Gary, IN, and
kept our ‘50 Buick running for us.
During all the time I was coming from
California, getting separated, spending
time in Wyoming, and eventually getting
home, Richard had to stay in California
for a court-martial case involving one of
the troops under his charge as a compartment
commander on the ship. He then
spent some time in the hospital at Camp
Carson, but was finally separated with a
clean bill of health. He arrived back in
Warren on October 30th, almost 3 weeks
after I got home.
As a postscript to all this, after a recommendation
by our commanding officers,
the People of the United States
awarded both of us the Bronze Star
Medal for Meritorious Service against an
armed enemy while with the 3rd Division
Artillery in Korea. For this, I am very
proud.
Paul I. Bonham
5656 W State Rd 124-90
Markle, IN 46770-9133
(260) 694-6106
POW/MIA INVESTIGATION T
JPAC teams return from
search for missing Americans
from the Korean War
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-
HICKAM, Hawaii (Aug. 17, 2010) – An
investigation team from the U.S. Joint
POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC)
returned to Hawaii recently after searching
for fallen Americans in Guangdong
Province, the People’s Republic of China.
This was the second of two visits to
Guangdong Province this year, the first
occurring in April.
The investigation team successfully
uncovered evidence and information associated
with Americans missing as a result
of a suspected crash of a U.S. aircraft in
November of 1950.
The team investigated the alleged crash
site and burial which is near the last
known vicinity of the aircraft in question,
and searched for human remains, life support,
and other material evidence (personal
and military issued items). Material evidence
and some personal effects were
found and brought back to JPAC’s Central
Identification Laboratory in Hawaii for
analysis. This material evidence is used to
specifically correlate the site to the crash.
Investigation teams authenticated leads
from eye witnesses, conducted field
research, and gathered additional information.
Their work will help set the groundwork
for any future recovery teams by
clearly defining the work that will be
required to properly and efficiently recover
the site at a later date.
The U.S. and People’s Republic of
China have cooperated during POW/MIA
accounting missions in the past, resulting
in the identification by JPAC of U.S.
remains from World War II, the Korean
War, the Cold War and the Vietnam War.
Falling directly under the U.S. Pacific
Command, the jointly-manned organization
of more than 400 military and civilian
specialists has investigated and recovered
missing Americans since the 1970’s. To
date, close to 8,000 Americans are still
listed as Missing in Action from the
Korean War.
The ultimate goal of the Joint
POW/MIA Accounting Command, and of
the agencies involved in returning
America’s heroes home, is to achieve the
fullest possible accounting of Americans
lost during the nation’s past conflicts. Visit
JPAC on the web at www.jpac.pacom.mil
“Until They Are Home”
This message was sent by: JPAC, 310
Worchester Ave, Bldg 45, Hickam, HI
96853
Soldiers Missing from Korean
War Identified
Cpl. Roy Stewart
The Department of Defense
POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO)
announced today that the remains of a
U.S. serviceman, missing in action from
the Korean War, have been identified and
will be returned to his family for burial
with full military honors.
He is Cpl. Roy Stewart, U.S. Army, of
Jackson, Miss. His funeral will be held
Tuesday at Arlington National Cemetery
near Washington, D.C. Representatives
from the Army’s mortuary office met with
the next-of-kin of Stewart to explain the
recovery and identification process and to
coordinate interment with military honors
on behalf of the secretary of the Army.
Stewart was assigned to Company A,
9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry
Division, deployed to North Korea near
Kujang-dong. In late November 1950, he
was captured by enemy forces and reportedly
died March 14, 1951, while in captivity
near Pyoktong, North Korea.
During Operation Glory in the fall of
1954, North Korea turned over 4,167 caskets
including remains they claimed to be
those of Stewart. This was part of an
agreement in which each side would
return remains of enemy soldiers. The
United States returned caskets containing
the remains of more than 12,000 communist
soldiers. At the time the Army was
unable to identify Stewart and the remains
were buried as “unknown” along with 415
other service members.
In 2008, an analyst from DPMO and an
independent researcher concluded they
had evidence that supported identification
of several unknown soldiers buried at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the
Pacific in Honolulu. The remains were
September – October 2010
The Graybeards