POW/MIA Found and Laid to Rest
by Kevin Gribble
Alan Mettler fought and died for our country over half a century ago. The soldier from Mandan died in a Korean War POW camp, but it took decades for his body to be returned. The after effects are war are always present, but today, the Mettler family and friends was finally able to close a painful chapter in their lives.
Alan`s brother Larry recalls, "Last time I saw my brother, he was boarding the train to go off to war."
Larry`s brother Allen courageously served during the Korean war. He and his division were ambushed in 1951. Allen was one of the few who survived. John Schafer was a sergeant at the time serving with a different division which was attacked at the same time as Allen`s.
"Most of my men were captured and the same with the 9th division, so we saw them marching from our hiding place, marching the prisoners back to their POW camp."
But Allen never made it out of the POW camp. He may be gone, but today`s memorial proves Allen will never be forgotten.
"I remember when he came home on leave first year," says brother Larry. "He was in the service, it was Fourth of July we spent together, and he somehow came up with a cherry bomb and placed it into a garbage can, and our mom and dad were gone, and when we stood out in the front yard while the can waited for the explosion in the backyard, and we laughed and had a great time."
Identifying remains of Korean War POWs is extremely rare because bodies were returned over the course of several decades. That, coupled with often incomplete medical records makes things difficult. It took some luck and hard work by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command`s lab to bring Allen`s family the closure it deserved.
"A lot of individuals are in boxes that are co-mingled," notes anthropologist Audrey Meehan. "We work all the time on trying to identify all the individuals."
Allen`s first memorial was over 50 years ago, but brother Larry says it never really felt complete without a body.
"He was pretty important to me, so when I got the call last spring from Audrey, it was a shock to say the least."
A shock that turned to relief, one that allowed a family`s mourning to finally come to an end. Thousands of bodies belonging to slain American POWs have yet to be identified including over 200 boxes of remains believed to be from the Korean War. If you believe one of your loved ones is among those go to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command`s website at www.JPAC.PACOM.mil for instructions on how you may be able to help anthropologists help you.
© 2006 Mollie Zent and KFYR-TV