Barberton soldier to finally get his due
Full honors to be held 56 years after private killed in Korean War
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
The remains of a 21-year-old Barberton soldier killed in action 56 years ago during the Korean War will be honored later this month with a full military funeral and honor guard, U.S. Army officials confirmed Friday.
Johnny Johnson, mortuary affairs specialist with the Army's Repatriation and Family Affairs Division in Alexandria, Va., said the remains of Pfc. Francis Crater are scheduled to arrive Oct. 18 at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport, accompanied by a military escort from Fort Knox, Ky.
The fallen soldier's family, including his brother, Glenn D. Crater, 79, of Akron, have scheduled calling hours Oct. 20 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Hennessy-Bagnoli Funeral Home, 936 N. Main St.
A service will be held at the funeral home Oct. 21 at 11 a.m., followed by a procession to Greenlawn Memorial Park, 2580 Romig Road, where Crater will be buried next to his mother.
David Moore, funeral home manager, said the public is welcome to attend the graveside service and calling hours.
Glenn Crater said his 37-year-old grandson, Robert Jenkins, who has served two times in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Ky., will deliver the eulogy.
Johnson said Glenn Crater and his family and friends were ``overwhelmed and overjoyed'' when he met with them last week at the Crater home on North Hill to give them details about the identification process and recovery of the remains.
In late 2003, Army scientists, anthropologists and medical staff recovered the remains on the eastern shore of the Chosin Reservoir, site of fierce fighting between United Nations and Chinese forces in November 1950, Johnson said.
The recovery process, he said, was conducted in two stages, the first during October 2002, the second during September and October 2003, when Francis Crater's skeletal remains were discovered -- nearly intact -- in a burial site 3 1/2 to 4 feet deep.
Because United Nations forces were badly outnumbered and fought their way out in a swift withdrawal, Army scientists learned that Crater's body likely was left behind at a medical center and buried by Chinese or North Korean forces, Johnson said.
Francis Crater, he said, died of a combat wound and apparently was buried along with the bodies of four others.
Also discovered near the burial site, Johnson said, were Crater's dog tags. His name and serial number were clearly visible after the tags had been cleaned by Army specialists.
"The dog tags were totally intact and will be presented to the family," Johnson said.
Army personnel, he said, were able to recover 88 percent of Francis Crater's skeletal remains and later made a positive identification based on tests of DNA material, the dog tags and military records matching the area at Chosin in which the infantryman was last seen.
On April 19, Army scientists finalized their DNA findings and made a formal, positive identification of the remains. However, according to military regulations, the identification process is not complete until Army officials meet with a soldier's family and the family accepts the findings, Johnson said.
Johnson's meeting with the Crater family occurred on Sept. 28 and took three hours to complete, he said.
After decades of thinking his brother's remains would never be found, Crater said the identification process intensified in 2001, when the Army asked for DNA samples from him and his late sister's son.
Now that funeral details have been finalized, Crater said Friday that the last week or so has gone by so fast that it's a blur.
``First of all, after all these years, I never expected this to happen. I just wish to God it had happened when my mom and dad were still living, and others in my family were still living,'' he said. ``I'm the only one left.''
His brother was in the 7th Infantry Division, B Company, First Battalion, 32nd Regiment.
Johnson said the remains will be flown to Cleveland from the Army's Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.
According to U.S. Department of Defense reports, 54,246 American service members died in the Korean War.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer at thebeaconjournal dot com.
© 2006 Beacon Journal and wire service sources.
Ohio