War hero returning from Korea after 60 years

[fatoldladyinpjs]

My mother's cousin went off to war in Korea in 1950-53 and never returned. He died in combat and was buried, we think, in a mass grave. They found his remains and those of his comrades but weren't able to positively identify them. His parents and siblings were all long dead. They took a DNA swab from my mother and her sister, the oldest living relatives. My mom got a call from the military saying that they finally identified him. After 60 years, Arthur is finally coming home to rest. Welcome home.

[Antares]

Welcome home, indeed! Great story. Thanks for sharing.

[justplaincharlotte]

Welcome home Arthur. Your service and sacrifice will not be forgotten. It must be of some comfort to your mom & Aunt knowing he'll be home soon, though it's sad his immediate family didn't get to see it.

[Jan in CA]

That's an amazing story! Thanks for sharing!

[fatoldladyinpjs]

And I know nothing about the Korean War. From what I see on his information online, he was killed at the Chosin Reservoir. Okay, so what's that? Just a name to me. I do some digging into the history. The US and UN troops were in North Korea expecting to make a quick end of the war and go home. All of a sudden, they were caught by surprise by Chinese troops crossing the border into North Korea, attacking them with everything they had. They were outnumbered 120,000 to 20,000. The Marines astounded the Chinese by running into the battle rather than away from it to rescue fellow Marines caught behind enemy lines. Reunited with their comrades they, along with the army divisions like the one Arthur was from, fought all the way to the coast to escape by ship. The battle ran from November 27-December 11, 1950. Arthur was killed November 28th. Though badly outnumbered, the US and UN troops crippled or destroyed 7 Chinese divisions.

Edit: My son and I watched a documentary on Chosin this morning. Two of these Chinese divisions that were destroyed were never heard from and never fought again.

[salmonmac]

Thanks very much for telling us your cousin's story. It's right that he's finally coming home.

[fatoldladyinpjs]

My son and I watched a documentary on Chosin this morning. The US/UN troops were overrun by Chinese troops, 120,000 to 15-20,000. Though badly outnumbered, they took out or crippled 7 divisions, that's 66,500 men. Two of those divisions completely disappeared and never organized to fight again, that was 19,000 men.

[Jan in CA]

Threadjack...for a sec before I forget... My friend shows and trains her Cardigan Welsh Corgi dogs. A couple of her dogs were on the cover and in the centerfold of the May 2012 Dog Fancy.

[fatoldladyinpjs]

I'll have to look for that one. Ours is a Pembroke corgi with the stumpy tail.

[Jan in CA]

Testing to see if pic uploaded. I managed to get the photo, but was never able to find the mag. The cover boy there... that's Tango.