Another Returns Home to Rest in Peace

One day in 1950, in a foxhole some distance north of Pyongyang, North Korea, a US Army soldier died. He was with the 503rd Field Artillery, 2nd Infantry division.

While tragic, such an occurrence was regrettably common. For the last half of 1950, the US was fighting a war in Korea – a war that would last 3 years, 1 month, and 3 days and would claim (including MIAs), nearly 42,700 American lives.

The young soldier was one of those MIAs. His body was not returned at the end of hostilities.

His remains lay buried approximately 50 miles north of Pyongyang. His remains were isolated – that is, they were not buried in any military cemetery or mass grave.

In 2000, a joint US-North Korean team was investigating old Korean War fighting positions. While doing so, they discovered the skeleton of a 5’ 10” tall male, apparently of African-American ancestry. These remains were returned to the US.

After roughly 50 years in the earth, the remains were predictably in poor shape. In past years these remains would likely never have been positively identified.

However, modern technology sometimes works wonders. Through DNA matching with living relatives, the remains were finally positively identified.

Yesterday – 31 July 2012 – SGT Thomas Jefferson Barksdale was returned to his hometown of Macon, GA. His casket was flown from Hawaii to Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta. It was escorted from there to Macon by elements of the Georgia State Patrol, the Bibb County Sheriff’s office, the Macon Police Department, and 87 Georgia Patriot Guard Riders. Seven GA ARNG soldiers carried his casket from its hearse into a local funeral home, where it will remain until his funeral on Friday. He will be interred with full military honors at the Georgia Veteran’s Cemetery in Milledgville, GA.

Welcome home, SGT Barksdale – my elder brother in arms. Rest now in peace.

Category: No Longer Missing