Joseph
Joseph Meyer
d. December 12, 1950
Closure and peace after 50 years
Almost 50 years after he was killed in the Korean War, Joseph ?Joe? Kenneth Meyer Jr. is finally coming home.
His family knew when he was killed, but have suffered since not knowing where he was buried in Korea.
In January of this year, a mass grave was found and the bodies of 250 servicemen were recovered. Meyer's family heard about the grave but had no idea one of those young men was a lost brother. The U. S. Department of the Army contacted the family Feb. 29 to say they had positively identified his remains.
Meyer was the youngest of 4 children. His parents, JK and Clara (Holm) Meyer, raised their family in Wahpeton. His 3 older siblings, all girls, have been waiting for years to hear word of their brother. Alice Pausch, rural Great Bend, Rose Moore, Mooreton and their oldest sister, Emma Wolfe who resides in Idaho, were ecstatic to hear their brother?s remains will be coming home in the spring. Pausch and Moore are planning his funeral for May 3, 2008 at St. John?s Catholic Church, Wahpeton.
Once in North Dakota be will have a military escort who will not leave his side until he is buried. A 2008 Army uniform will be laid over the top of his body in the casket, Pausch said. The funeral will provide the family with closure, but more importantly, peace.
His middle sister, Pausch, remembers Meyer as being a nice young man. He attended school at St. John?s Catholic Grade School and Wahpeton High School. He joined the service at the age of 17 in 1949. Joe was a private first class (PFC) in the US Army in Company K of the 31st Infantry Regimant in the 7th Infantry Division.
PFC Meyer was killed in action on December 12, 1950. The only way his body was identified was through blood samples two of his sisters provided in 1998 for DNA markers and from his teeth and bone marrow from his skeletal remains. His dog tags were removed by the Koreans.
You don?t realize what this means to our family, Mrs. Pausch stated. ?We?ve wondered over the years what happened to him and now we know.?
Almost 50 years after he was killed in the Korean War, Joseph ?Joe? Kenneth Meyer Jr. is finally coming home.
His family knew when he was killed, but have suffered since not knowing where he was buried in Korea.
In January of this year, a mass grave was found and the bodies of 250 servicemen were recovered. Meyer's family heard about the grave but had no idea one of those young men was a lost brother. The U. S. Department of the Army contacted the family Feb. 29 to say they had positively identified his remains.
Meyer was the youngest of 4 children. His parents, JK and Clara (Holm) Meyer, raised their family in Wahpeton. His 3 older siblings, all girls, have been waiting for years to hear word of their brother. Alice Pausch, rural Great Bend, Rose Moore, Mooreton and their oldest sister, Emma Wolfe who resides in Idaho, were ecstatic to hear their brother?s remains will be coming home in the spring. Pausch and Moore are planning his funeral for May 3, 2008 at St. John?s Catholic Church, Wahpeton.
Once in North Dakota be will have a military escort who will not leave his side until he is buried. A 2008 Army uniform will be laid over the top of his body in the casket, Pausch said. The funeral will provide the family with closure, but more importantly, peace.
His middle sister, Pausch, remembers Meyer as being a nice young man. He attended school at St. John?s Catholic Grade School and Wahpeton High School. He joined the service at the age of 17 in 1949. Joe was a private first class (PFC) in the US Army in Company K of the 31st Infantry Regimant in the 7th Infantry Division.
PFC Meyer was killed in action on December 12, 1950. The only way his body was identified was through blood samples two of his sisters provided in 1998 for DNA markers and from his teeth and bone marrow from his skeletal remains. His dog tags were removed by the Koreans.
You don?t realize what this means to our family, Mrs. Pausch stated. ?We?ve wondered over the years what happened to him and now we know.?
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