Remains of US soldier lost in Korean War come home


December 20, 2013 at 5:18p.m.

Remains of US soldier lost in Korean War come home

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sixty-three years after Army Sgt. 1st Class Joseph E. Gantt went missing during the Korean War, his remains have been returned to his 94-year-old widow in a solemn ceremony at Los Angeles International Airport.

Clara Gantt wept early today as she stood before a flag-draped casket that was carried from a jetliner by a military honor guard.

Joseph Gantt was lost on Nov. 30, 1950, while serving with Battery C, 503rd Field Artillery, 2nd Infantry Division, in the vicinity of Somindong, North Korea. He died while a prisoner of war in 1951.

The Defense Department’s missing personnel office say his remains were identified last month.

Burial is scheduled for Dec. 28 in Inglewood, Calif.

Nearly 7,900 Americans are still unaccounted for from the Korean War.