Hopeless to hopeful
By Bryon Houlgrave of the Muscatine Journal
MUSCATINE, Iowa Ñ Giving her brother a proper burial was something Phyllis Walker worried she would never get to do.
For more than half a century, the Muscatine woman lived with the doubt that the remains of her brother, U.S. Army Pfc. Everett D. Schenk, would ever be returned to the United States from under foreign soil.
Schenk was fighting in Korea when his platoon was attacked during the battle for Pork Chop Hill, according to documents Walker received from the U.S. military.
The United States successfully held off the offensive from North Korea, but SchenkÕs platoon was wiped out in the process.
He was declared Missing In Action in July 1953. His status changed to Killed In Action one year later.
Now, Walker could be a few months away from the homecoming she has, for 53 years, hoped and prayed for.
Bringing family home
The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) is a special military-operated force dedicated to locating the remains of U.S. soldiers killed in battle on foreign land.
Since its start in 2003, JPAC teams have recovered and identified the remains of more than 1,200 U.S. soldiers from war-torn areas, including Korea, Vietnam and areas of Europe.
Of the 1,200 total Americans believed to have been recovered, 25 of them are from Iowa.
Once without hope, Walker was overcome with tears upon learning her brother may have been recovered.
ÒItÕs the best feeling in the world. ItÕs such a blessing,Ó Walker said.
Lt. Col. Mark W. Brown, director of public affairs for JPAC, said preliminary identification based on artifacts gathered at an excavation site in Korea reveal that remains found most likely belong to Schenk.
ÒFrom the battle site, we recovered remains, and have the names of guys in the unit. Some of them had wallets, dog tags, something that determined who they were,Ó Brown said during a telephone interview from Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.
Brown said, despite preliminary identifications, DNA testing is needed to give undisputed confirmation.
ÒWe believe thatÕs who they are, but we just donÕt have the proof-positive, which is the mitochondrial DNA test,Ó he said.
Brown, an Iowa native, reported that he has returned three soldiers to Iowa soil, one of which was a relative of his.
ÒI was looking at our own Web site one day, and I saw a name. We have relatives with that name, and I called my dad and asked him if we lost a relative in World War II. He said his cousin was shot down over Germany.
ÒI was able to tell him that I think heÕs coming home. That was a neat feeling,Ó Brown said.
Now, Phyllis Walker is a phone call away from that same
feeling.
The search begins
A year ago, she read an article in an area newspaper regarding JPAC. Acting on a hunch, she made the appropriate contacts to JPAC officials, and sent a DNA kit to a lab in Washington, D.C. including samples of both herself and one of her sons.
She had no idea her brother could be among the 25 recovered Iowans.
ÒI never knew they had any remains. IÕm more optimistic now than ever before,Ó Walker said.
On Thursday, she contacted Brown, who reported that JPAC suspected they were holding her brotherÕs remains in Hawaii.
ÒI think they found him. I think they have my brother,Ó she said, crying, on Thursday, following her discussion with Brown.
ÒTalking to Phyllis, her emotions coming out over the phone brought big tears to my eyes,Ó Brown said, adding that he would love to be the escort officer in charge of bringing her brotherÕs remains back home.
WalkerÕs DNA test is still being compared to DNA from the remains suspected to belong to her brother. It could take a few months before she knows anything for sure.
ÒSometimes results take as little as a couple months. Sometimes longer, depending on how busy the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab is. If theyÕre really backed up, it could take (longer),Ó Brown said.
Walker said she is very excited to get the opportunity to give her brother a proper burial.
ÒWe have a memorial grave in Winfield that we decorate, and I hope and pray that weÕll be able to bring him back and put him there, where he belongs,Ó she said.
More homecomings?
Brown believes Schenk is one of three soldiers from Muscatine County whose remains may have been recovered from various sites in Korea.
Army Capt. Robert M. Hanson and and Army Pfc. Henry J. Unkel Jr. join Schenk on the list.
August Unkel, of Clarksville, Tenn., said his brother was reported missing in action on Nov. 30, 1950.
ÒHe was in the Army Infantry and crossed the border and got lost ... He was wounded and sent to Japan to recover in Osaka,Ó said Unkel, a veteran of the U.S. Navy who also saw action in the Korean War.
ÒHe was returned back (to battle) that December when the Chinese began their push. He was returned back to his unit from the hospital because they were desperate.
ÒThen he was gone,Ó he said.
Unkel said the family didnÕt have much information to go by for several years.
Unkel said he hasnÕt been contacted by anyone from JPAC.
All three soldiers from Muscatine County were part of the Korean War.
Any relatives of the soldiers believed to be found are encouraged to contact JPAC. Visit their Web site at www.jpac.pacom.mil.
Members of HansonÕs family could not be reached for comment.
ÔWar is hellÕ
August Unkel remembers his brother, Henry, as a Ògood kid.Ó
ÒHank was the outdoors type. He enjoyed fishing, playing games ... he was a good kid, but the straightjacket of school didnÕt fit him that well. So, he elected to go to the military instead,Ó Unkel said, adding that in those days, quitting school for the military was a common thing to do.
ÒIt was a good way to get away from home. Henry just needed a little more excitement or something, so he joined up.Ó
Unkel said the family didnÕt come from a rich military tradition. Naturally, HenryÕs mother wasnÕt pleased with his choice to leave school and join the Army.
ÒShe didnÕt much care for it, but he was a youngster, what can I say?Ó Unkel said.
August Unkel initially chose education over the military. He enrolled at St. Ambrose. A year later, he quit college and enlisted in the Navy, following the advice of some friends.
ÒThey told me the Navy was better. They had better training,Ó he said.
Unkel was stationed in Norfolk, Va., when he learned of his brotherÕs demise in Korea.
ÒHis platoon was wiped out. He was gone. CÕest la vie,Ó August Unkel said.
Unkel said he never really believed his brother was anything other than dead. Given what he understood about North Korean views on war, he knew that Henry was not a prisoner of war.
ÒThey donÕt buy the western tradition of combat. TheyÕre not looking to take prisoners,Ó he said.
ÒHey, what can I say? War is hell, and thatÕs the bottom line,Ó he said.
The Journey to hell
At age 17, Schenk quit school for the service.
Before enlisting in the Army, Schenk joined the National Guard. Mostly, Phyllis said, because he felt women liked how he looked in a uniform.
ÒHe loved the girls. He thought the girls liked a man in uniform,Ó Walker said.
SchenkÕs time in the National Guard was curtailed. He felt the Army was a better fit for him.
ÒI was upset, but thatÕs what he wanted to do. I thought he should stay (in Muscatine), but he was having trouble finding a job,Ó she said.
At that time, the war in Korea had been ongoing. Walker felt uncomfortable about her brotherÕs decision.
ÒI was really worried about him ... but, and as he said, the draft would have gotten him sooner or later. I have no doubt that he would have gotten drafted.Ó
Schenk, too young to fight, spent nearly a year in Japan before he turned 18.
Walker believes war had become a real eye-opener for her brother. She recalls receiving letters, and reading material from a different person than what she remembered.
ÒYou could read between the lines. You knew that he had wished he hadnÕt joined,Ó she said.
ÒIn one letter he wrote, ÔI donÕt have to worry about going to hell, because I know what it is. IÕm living it.Õ
ÒSo he knew that it was bad,Ó she said.
Most of the correspondence was blacked out, Walker said, due to the U.S. military practice of censoring letters that they believed contained sensitive information.
ÒHe had said something about Pork Chop Hill, but I didnÕt know if that was where he was at. I knew he was in Korea, but I didnÕt know where at for sure.Ó
Walker said the letters grew sparse closer to the date he was reported missing. When SchenkÕs status was reported to the family, Walker said her mother was forever changed.
ÒI think she died of a broken heart. I think she felt guilty ...,Ó she said.
ÔMiracles ... do happenÕ
If the remains of Everett Schenk are confirmed, it will mark the fourth Iowan in the three years of JPACÕs existence who has been returned home. ItÕs a terrific feeling for Brown, who feels technology is making identification easier and easier to confirm.
ÒEver since DNA became more refined, weÕre getting better at it all the time,Ó Brown said.
Walker feels everyone who has a family member with an MIA, killed in action or POW status should contact JPAC.
ÒMiracles really do happen ... I want people to get in contact, and they can get some closure. ItÕs terrible not having any closure.
Ò(Soldiers) should be resting at home, where they should, not in a foreign land,Ó she said.
Currently, Schenk and a soldier from the Quad Cities area are awaiting confirmation.
ÒThis is the most rewarding job I have had in my military career,Ó Brown said.
ÒWe are the only nation on earth who cares what happened to those military members who never returned from past wars.Ó
Contact Bryon Houlgrave at 563-263-2331, Ext. 317, or bryon.houlgrave@muscatinejournal.com
The following is a list of Iowa soldiers who are believed to be identified:
Hal Gibson
William Fisher
Robert Carstensen
Jack Callahan
John Cavil
Donald Forbes
George Bolden
Clem Boody
Thomas Beelman
Roy Vickery
Delbert White
Leigh Widel
Henry Unkel
Everett Schenk
Duane Schmidt
Hans Sand
Donald Rothlauf
Sam Nelson
Philip McAughan
Jack Marshall
Roy Kirton
Richard Hutton
Charles Hopper
Robert Hansen
William Hanson
For more information on JPAC, visit its Web site at www.jpac.pacom.mil, or
Telephone: 808-448-1937
© 2006, Muscatine Journal, Muscatine, IA A Lee Enterprises subsidiary