Nearly 60 years after his death in Korea, she can lay dad to rest
A former teacher can have closure after her father's remains are identified at last.
By DAVID MACAULAY
NEWPORT NEWS
When she retired eight years ago as a teacher at a Newport News elementary school, Mary Battaglia went on a mission to bring home her father who was lost in the Korean War.
She found out this week his remains have been identified and he is due to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Department of Defense announced Thursday that officials had identified the remains of Capt. Edward B. Scullion, who was killed during intense fire in a Chinese attack in late November 1950 near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.
His remains were recovered from North Korea in 2002 and taken to Hawaii, but it has taken six years to make a positive identification.
Battaglia, 64, who lives in Denbigh, was 6 years old when she last saw her father.
She described her memories of him at their home in Norfolk as "isolated" because he had been away so much with the military.
Although she recalled him as being "very tall" he was, in fact, only just over 5 feet, 9 inches. And at Christmas in 1950, she wrote letters to her father, not knowing he had already died.
After retiring as a teacher at Epes Elementary School in Newport News in 2000, Battaglia sought to bring her father home.
"It was a matter of huge sadness," she said. "When I retired, I thought I really needed to find out what happened. It was something I needed to do."
Battaglia started attending annual conferences organized by the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office. In 2001, she managed to obtain mitochondrial DNA samples by getting in touch with two of her father's cousins, who agreed to give blood.
Between 2002 and 2005, joint U.S. and Korean teams conducted excavations in the People's Republic of Korea near the Chosin Reservoir where Scullion was killed. They took remains back to a laboratory in Hawaii.
Although Scullion's remains were recovered in 2002, the process of matching dental records was delayed by the fact he had lost some teeth, his daughter said. The DNA samples obtained from his cousins ultimately proved vital in the identification.
"I'm relieved they have identified him in my lifetime and they'll be able to bury him not far from his home," Battaglia said.
Scullion will be buried with full military honors at Arlington this summer.
Battaglia hoped the news would provide encouragement for other families who are seeking to identify the remains of their loved ones lost in overseas conflicts.
Although the Korean War is in danger of becoming forgotten, Battaglia said her father didn't die in vain.
The sacrifice he and other veterans made helped ensure that modern day South Korea is a democracy with a healthy economy.
A second soldier from Virginia, Elwood D. Reynolds of Schoolfield near Danville, was identified along with eight other soldiers.
© 2008, Newport News, Va., Daily Press