ICYMI: DNA Brings Soldier Home 65 Years Later

A burial with full military honors held at Jacksonville National Cemetery on Monday morning was 65 years in the making.

The Army veteran laid to rest was 21-year-old Charlie Wilcher Jr., who was first reported missing during the Korean War back in 1950. Wilcher’s family received notice that the Private 1st Class was declared missing in action back on Nov. 30, 1950, the Florida Times Union reported. The family then heard nothing about the eldest of five siblings until 1953 when another telegram came saying Wilcher was presumed dead, First Coast News reported.

Definitive confirmation of Charlie’s death, however, didn’t come until recently when a DNA sample from Wilcher’s sister, Betty Wilcher Stewart, matched bones found in an excavated burial site near Kujang, North Korea, the Times reported.

Wilcher was an honors graduate and salutatorian of his high school’s graduating class. He attended a segregated school and worked as a mechanic before enlisting in the military to earn a better living, multiple news sources reported. Wilcher was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division when it was attacked by Chinese forces. The unit suffered heavy casualties in the attack, the Times noted.

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Wilcher’s remains returned to Jacksonville on Saturday, bringing closure to the family.

Stewart and the other Wilcher siblings told First Coast News their story should serve as hope for those awaiting word about their own loved ones’ fates.

“When you love a loved one and you have no closure, don’t give up hope,” Stewart told the paper.

Wilcher was buried Monday morning at the national cemetery in Jacksonville with full military honors.

More than 7,800 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War era.

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