Photo By Staff Sgt. Manda Walters | Members of the military, Boy Scouts of America, Patriot Riders and the American Legion...... read more read more
CENTENNIAL, Colo. – A prisoner of war, whose remains were recently identified after nearly 65 years missing, was laid to rest next to his mother in Littleton, Colo., March 7.
U.S. Army Sgt. Floyd J.R. Jackson, of the 31st Regimental Combat Team, was missing in action after the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, a battle fought during the Korean War and was assumed to be a prisoner of war.
That was the last his family knew of him until Joanna Mueller, Jackson’s niece and oldest surviving female family member, was asked to give a DNA sample to confirm Jackson’s potential remains. The DNA evidence confirmed that Jackson died in a Korean POW camp around Dec. 12, 1950. Jackson was reinterred at the Olinger Chapel Hill Mortuary and Cemetery.
“To finally bring a Soldier home who made the ultimate sacrifice is such an important part to help bring the family closure,” said Maj. Gen. H. Michael Edwards, the adjutant general of Colorado, who served in Korea in 1976, 1993 and 2006. “We are all here to show the family how much we all care and how much it means to bring home a fallen warrior,” he added.
Edwards offered the Mueller family support and condolences, as did many other guests, who, holding U.S. flags, lined the path for the horse-drawn carriage on which Jackson was being carried. Members of the military, Boy Scouts of America, Patriot Riders, and the American Legion stood in observance as the casket passed.
“This is a happy day,” Mueller said, through teary eyes, after the funeral.
Jackson was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Prisoner of War Medal and many other awards, acknowledging his exemplary service and sacrifice. Mueller accepted these on behalf of her uncle in late February 2015.
“I was so moved,” she recalled. “I just couldn’t believe it.”
According to the Department of Defense, more than 7,800 MIA and POW personnel from the Korean War remain unaccounted for. Mueller offered words of encouragement to the families.
“They don’t ever give up,” she said. “Families of MIAs and POWs should never lose hope.”
| Date Taken: | 03.07.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2015 21:28 |
| Story ID: | 156596 |
| Location: | CENTENNIAL, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 83 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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