News-Info-Alerts

Re: Hope Continues 53 Years On

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: May 24, 2003

"An MIA story: Hope continues that brother’s remains will be found
By Joyce Moran, Staff Writer

Bloody Ridge, North Korea, is a long way from the Crow Wing River in Minnesota, USA.

It was the fall of 1950, and the war in Korea was raging. John Bradway, 22, of Staples, knew his number to be drafted was coming up. He reasoned, therefore, that he may as well enlist. Little brother George (pictured) further reasoned that John was not going on with the plan alone.

Just as they had done so many things together through their formative years—like hunting and fishing—John and George enlisted in the Army together. They left on the troop train together for basic training at Fort Polk, LA. They had their leaves home after the training together, and, being members of the 9th Division, 2nd Infantry Division, they left for Korea together. But John was the only brother to return from the war.

Approximately one year after the brothers enlisted, in September, 1951, their parents, Lawrence and Maude Bradway of Staples, received the dreaded telegram—their son George was Missing in Action in North Korea. Three days later they received a telegram saying that John had been wounded. Thankfully, his wounds were not that serious. He was eventually sent back into action.

“We hadn’t heard from the boys for awhile and we were getting worried,” recalled the brothers’ sister, now Elizabeth Weidenbach of Little Falls. “I was 17 when we got the telegrams. It was hard. You really didn’t want to believe it—that there had to be some mistake. We had figured the soldiers always returned, just as our dad did from World War I, and our half-brother, Edward Goor, had from World War II. Yes, it took my parents a long time to accept it.”

Though his body was never found, George was declared dead in June, 1952.

“John, George and I were the youngest,” related Elizabeth. “We were like ‘the three munchkins,’ doing everything together. We’d sell papers when the trains came through town. I remember some trains were carrying POWs; their curtains were pulled. But, the boys loved to go fishing. I’d go along sometimes—on the Crow Wing River and down by the Pillager dam.”

Continuing, Elizabeth added, “George had been sending money home from his pay. He had plans to go to Dunwoody for auto mechanics. He loved cars and was forever taking them apart and putting them back together again.”


(Pictured are Elizabeth Weidenbach and her husband, Clarence, with few things she has to remember her brother with are a watch and a Japanese doll that he had sent her from Japan, and the American flag that hung over the capitol in his honor. Staff photo by Joyce Moran)

The fact that their son was a soldier “missing in action” was something that Lawrence and Maude Bradway took to their graves. “There was never any closure for them,” explained Elizabeth. “No information on what happened was ever given. There was no coverage of the war like there is now. No television, just what you heard on the radio or saw in the papers.”

While her parents never lived to see it, Elizabeth reported that the Army is now putting a lot of effort into the recovery of MIAs and finding out what happened to POWs. “It’s interesting to witness the work they’re doing to recover the remains,” Elizabeth reported. “After the war, attempts were made to find the missing. Searches were done of fox holes and rice paddies. Then nothing happened for years. Finally, Presidents Bush, Reagan and Clinton made the recovery of missing servicemen a matter of high priority, and the search began again. Unfortunately, our relations with North Korea have recently soured and the searches are now being delayed.”

As Elizabeth further explained, any remains of servicemen found where battles took place in Korea and South Vietnam are taken to Hawaii. Painstaking efforts are then taken to match the DNA of the remains with the DNA given by relatives of the MIAs. “My brother and sister have both sent samples of their DNA to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory,” related Elizabeth. “Our son Gregg did also.”

The Army continues to keep in touch with family members of the MIAs, even though a truce unofficially ended the Korean War in 1953. As an example, Elizabeth produced a letter she recently received from the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office. While it told of the continued efforts being taken to recover remains of MIAs, it added, “We deeply regret that after these many years we are unable to furnish you with any additional information on your brother’s loss.”

Still, Elizabeth has more information on her brother’s fate than her parents ever did. According to information from the Army and now available on the internet, PFC George Bradway became missing during one of the many battles that took place between the Chinese/North Korean forces and the UN forces during what became known as the battle for Bloody Ridge.

Thinking back 50 years, Elizabeth said, “My brother had a gold ID bracelet he always wore. Where is it now? In some North Korean museum that includes artifacts from the war? I really feel the boys back then didn’t have enough training—certainly not what they receive today. Our son Gregg has been in the National Guard for 18 years now. He’s got enough training. So has our son Craig who spent some time in the Army.”

Concluding, Elizabeth said, “My only regret is that my parents never got to know what happened to George. I think it’s wonderful that they’re still taking steps to find him but—it’s been 50 years. My heart goes out to anyone who has someone missing. There’s just no closure.”

John Bradway lived until just two years ago. While he rarely talked about his experiences in Korea, he did tell the family that he had visited with his brother George a couple of days before he was reported missing. “He said George seemed down (in spirits),” recalled their sister. “He said George had talked of how young the Chinese were. That bothered him. And then they were supposed to be sent home in a short while, but then their tour got extended.”

While his remains aren’t there, there is a stone for George Bradway, placed next to his parents’ markers at the Evergreen Cemetery in Staples. As she does every Memorial Day, Elizabeth will place flowers at the site.

© Morrison County Record"