Though it has been decades since U.S. forces were in combat on the Korean Peninsula, the battle continues for the families of veterans who are listed as Missing in Action. Fortunately for the family of Sgt. Willie Rowe, their battle for closure is over.

Sgt. Rowe’s remains were recently discovered and identified by the Department of the Army’s Survivor Outreach Service. Rowe’s nephew, Charles McKeller of Gloucester Point, received a notice in early May that his uncle’s remains had been identified and would soon be laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. 

Willie Rowe, a Hampton resident, joined the Army in 1950 and served in L Company 3rd Battalion of the 9th Infantry Regiment, part of the 2nd Infantry Division. 

Toward the end of that year, the 8th Army, which included the 2nd Infantry Division, was ordered to push north to drive North Korean and Chinese forces out of the Ch’ongch’on region. This came in response to a series of “devastating attacks” against the 8th Army by soldiers of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces, according to U.S. Department of the Army documents.

As part of these combat operations, Rowe’s unit engaged Chinese forces near the Sinjang River. Fighting lasted from Nov. 25 until the next morning, at which time Rowe was listed as Missing in Action (MIA). 

McKeller relayed the account of one of Rowe’s fellow soldiers who saw Rowe just before he was captured: “We had heard reports that they (Rowe’s regiment) were fighting the Chinese,” McKeller said, “he looked around, saw my uncle, looked again, and he was gone.”

The family had long assumed that Rowe was a casualty of some kind of explosive charge; however, the Army’s report indicates he was captured by opposition forces.

Army documents also indicate that Rowe was then sent to the Hofong Mining Camp, a North Korean labor camp for POWs. The camp’s conditions were deplorable and Rowe succumbed to illness and malnutrition on Jan. 20, 1951.

Rowe remained classified as MIA until archaeologists working with the Survivor Outreach Service discovered Rowe’s remains along with the remains of roughly a dozen other U.S. soldiers who had been killed or captured during the same combat operation. 

McKeller stated that the discovery and identification of the remains has brought closure to the family. He, as well as relatives Yvonne M. Perry, Melvin Mooney and Myra Edwards, was present when news came that the remains had been found and identified. 

“Everybody was very elated that they had found some information on his remains because it cleared up a mystery,” McKeller said, adding, “I’m just glad we found him.”

A sample of mitochondrial DNA was taken from the remains and matched with DNA from Yvonne M. Perry and the late Georgia Redcross, relatives of Rowe, proving that the remains were indeed Rowe’s.

After decades of uncertainty, Rowe’s remains will finally be laid to rest. Charles McKeller’s son, Command Sergeant Major Kevin McKeller, will escort the remains from Hawaii to Arlington. 

Sgt. Willie Rowe returns home to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 4.