1949. Three brothers and their little sister. Marvin is the brother in the middle. The little girl is me.
After71 years, my brother is coming home.
In early summer in 1949, Marvin lied about his age and joined the army. He was born between Christmas and New Year of 1932 and so was 16 years old at the time of his enlistment. After Basic, he came to my parent’s house for a short visit. Afterwards, he was sent to Japan. I guess he was part of the post WWII occupation force.
The war in Korea started in June of 1950 [according to Wiki] in southern South Korea. By October, Allied troops in the UN had pushed the front into North Korea. The UN [led by MacArthur] thought this whole conflict would be short. The plan was to be “Home by Christmas.”
Marvin was attached to the Army force that went up to the Chosin Reservoir. His company had a strength at the start of the campaign of 1300 soldiers. According to Wikipedia, the battle lasted from November 27 to December 13, 1950. At the end of the battle, 382 members of Marvin’s company survived. Marvin was not one of them. [Casualty numbers are courtesy of the U.S. Army.]
The war continued for some time. Truce talks started in July of 1951 but the fighting went on until July 1953.
Bits and pieces of soldiers were recently returned to the US by North Korea. Three bones belonging to Marvin were returned: left lower arm bone and both shin bones. This strikes me as odd because you’d think that it would be the thicker bones that survived, like the thigh bones.
I suspect that after the battle, the North Koreans/Chinese dug a big ditch and shoved bodies into it. At a later date, they went in with a back hoe, dumped each bucket load into a box, and said “Here.” The Army told me that remains of seven other individuals were in Marvin’s box.
Mass graves are very sad. However, there were thousands of casualties in the Chosin area, from both sides. They had to do something with all those bodies. The eventual careless excavation cannot be as easily justified, however.
Marvin’s box went to a lab in Hawaii, where they worked miracles with a small amount of DNA-intact material to compare with his family. The army had collected samples from a sister [me] and a brother several years ago, so the lab had family DNA for comparison.
Apparently, Y-DNA traces only ancestors on the male line of your family and mt-DNA traces only ancestors on the female line, while autosomal DNA traces both sides equally. Marvin’s bones matched in all three types of DNA, so the identification was solid.
How do I feel?
I am thrust back into memories of the family drama that caused Marvin to leave. I have to bear this turmoil alone, because I’m the only one of my generation left. Members of the next generation [even if they are old enough to be grandparents] have a rosy view of a happy, loving life with the old folks. Which is, of course, utter bullshit. Sigh.
I always felt safe when Marvin was around. He was my protector from the violence and chaos around us. When he left, I felt like he had abandoned me. There’s still a fragment of that feeling rolling around in my psyche.
As an adult, I realize that he had to leave. He had no choice.
I am still angry with my father [long gone] for being such an asshole. To everyone.
My daughter reminds me that, for a long time, young men have joined the military in order to escape trouble. Some survive but others do not. She is probably correct but it doesn’t make me feel better.
I chose to have his remains buried next to Mother. A niece suggested a military cemetery because they would take good care of the site. She feared that a small graveyard in a small town might be neglected. This might be so. But I chose this site as a gift to my mother. She would like to know that her son came home to her.
Mother may be long past knowing what is going on, but I will know.
Marvin is scheduled to be buried next month. I won’t be present at the interment. Travel is too hard on me these days. Nieces and nephews are still located not too far from the burial site. Some plan to attend.
I have been assured that the military will conduct a nice ceremony.
[Welcome home, Marvin. I still love you.]
