News-Info-Alerts

Re: Family Finally Knows Fate

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Date: August 01, 2002

"Family told of GI's fate; 'he's a warrior'
By Ron Jackson Staff Writer

ANADARKO -- Mamie Boyiddle died without knowing whether her oldest son was alive.

Pfc. Silas Wayne Boyiddle -- Mamie's son -- served in the Korean War and was reported as missing in action in June 1951. Mamie endured the unknown for the next 41 years, until her death 10 years ago.

Mamie's two surviving sons, William and Hicks, wonder whether she suffered unnecessarily.

The Boyiddle brothers saw a 51-year family mystery end over the weekend at the Korean and Cold War Annual Government Briefings in Arlington, Va. Government officials gave them an undated two-page report that narrates the capture and death of their oldest brother.

Silas Boyiddle, then 22, reportedly died of malnutrition "sometime in October 1950" north of Manp'o, North Korea, as a prisoner of war. "How long has the government known?" said William Boyiddle of Anadarko. "We don't know. But if they have known all this time, I kind of don't think it was right. They should have let her know."

Attempts to contact government officials in Washington were unsuccessful.

Government officials approached the Boyiddles in September about their missing brother. They said 19 sets of remains had been recovered near their brother's last known location in South Korea, and they wanted to conduct DNA tests to determine whether a family match was possible.

One of the remains was that of an American Indian.

Despite the lack of a DNA match, the trip was far from unproductive for the Boyiddles. Officials surprised them by giving them the report that framed the brutal last days of their brother's life. A stamp on the report indicates it was "Reviewed by DPMO (Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office)," July 10, 2002.

The report states that Silas Boyiddle was among the first American and Republic of Korea forces to engage the North Korean People's Army in combat in the summer of 1950. Boyiddle was a member of the Army's L Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, and participated in a series of battles during a fighting retreat by the allies.

The allies were trying to buy time for allied ships to arrive with reinforcements.

On July 11, 1950, Boyiddle's 3rd Battalion was ambushed near Choch'iwon, South Korea, by an enemy mortar barrage. North Korean tanks and more than 1,000 enemy troops flanked the besieged units, dividing the American
soldiers.

Of the battalion's 667 soldiers, more than 60 percent were killed in the battle.

Silas Boyiddle eventually ended up among the captives, whose numbers swelled to roughly 750 with the inclusion of civilian men and women. The prisoners were then forced in mixed groups to march northward to North Korean prison camps south of the China border. The report refers to the ordeal as the "infamous death march."

Along the way, the prisoners endured freezing temperatures, unsanitary conditions, disease and lack of medical care. Boyiddle, who had been captured in summer-weight clothing, may have endured temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero, the report states.

The report lists Boyiddle's official date of death as Oct. 31, 1950 -- eight months before his family learned he had been missing in action.

"I felt badly when I read the report," William Boyiddle said. "My brother basically starved to death."

Government officials also showed the Boyiddles a written account from a former American POW who survived the deadly march and ensuing captivity. He claimed to have been on a four-man work group that helped bury Silas Boyiddle at the Manp'o prison camp.

"They wouldn't let us take a copy of that paper," William Boyiddle said with a shrug. "I don't know why. ... But we did leave feeling certain that his remains would be returned home someday."

The remains of more than 150 Americans have been recovered from North Korea since 1996, the report stated.

"They told us they have already recovered 44 remains from the Manp'o prison camp," William Boyiddle said. "Those remains are in Hawaii (at the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory), and Silas might be among those. If not, they say they know where he is buried."

William and Hicks Boyiddle are determined to have Silas reburied at the Old Post Cemetery at Fort Sill someday.

"Thank God we know about him now," said Hicks Boyiddle, who was 5 at the time his older brother was officially reported missing in 1951. "It's sad the way he died, but I'm sure proud of my older brother. Think of the things he saw or the things he lived through.

© 2002, Produced by NewsOK"

"Family learns of private's fate 51 years after war

U.S. tells soldier's brothers he died in N. Korean captivity

Associated Press

ANADARKO, Okla. – An Oklahoma family finally has learned what became of their loved one, five decades after he fought in the Korean War and never came home.

Pfc. Silas Wayne Boyiddle was reported missing in action in June 1951.

His mother died 10 years ago, never knowing for sure whether he was alive or dead. His brothers, William and Hicks, discovered his fate as they attended the Korean and Cold War Annual Government Briefings in Arlington, Va., last month.

Pfc. Boyiddle, 22, was a prisoner of war who died of malnutrition "sometime in October 1950" north of Manp'o, North Korea, according to an undated two-page report released by government officials.

The news has left the Boyiddles wondering why the government did not tell them years ago – when their mother was alive.

"How long has the government known?" said William Boyiddle, an Anadarko resident. "We don't know. But if they have known all this time, I kind of don't think it was right. They should have let her know."

Officials told the Boyiddles in September that 19 sets of remains had been recovered near their brother's last known location in South Korea and that they wanted to conduct DNA tests to determine whether a family match was possible.

There was no DNA match, but the government gave the Boyiddles the report describing what happened to their brother.

A stamp on the report shows it was "Reviewed by DPMO (Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office)," on July 10, 2002.

It says Pfc. Boyiddle was among the first U.S. and Republic of Korea forces to engage the North Korean People's Army in combat in summer 1950. He was a member of the Army's L Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, and he participated in a series of battles during a fighting retreat by the allies.

The allies were trying to buy time for allied ships to arrive with reinforcements.

On July 11, 1950, Pfc. Boyiddle's 3rd Battalion was ambushed near Choch'iwon, South Korea, by an enemy mortar barrage.

North Korean tanks and more than 1,000 enemy troops flanked the besieged units, dividing the American soldiers.

More than 60 percent of the battalion's 667 soldiers were killed in the battle.

Pfc. Boyiddle and about 750 others, including civilians, were taken as captives. The prisoners were forced to march to North Korean prison camps south of the China border.

The report refers to the ordeal as the "infamous death march."

Along the way, the prisoners endured freezing temperatures, unsanitary conditions, disease and lack of medical care. Pfc. Boyiddle had been captured in summer-weight clothing.

The report lists Pfc. Boyiddle's official date of death as Oct. 31, 1950. That was eight months before his family learned he was missing in action.

The remains of more than 150 Americans have been recovered from North Korea since 1996, one government report stated.

The brothers said they have hope that Pfc. Boyiddle's remains will be returned to them. If so, they want to bury him in the Old Post Cemetery at Fort Sill.

"Thank God we know about him now," said Hicks Boyiddle, who was 5 when his older brother was reported missing. "It's sad the way he died, but I'm sure proud of my older brother. Think of the things he saw or the things he lived through ...

"He's a warrior." "