|
Click here to read or submit navy stories!
| Subject: Korean War Vet |
Author: Buddy LST 1126
Date: 3/26/2012 10:03 am CDT
|
After 60 years, fallen Korean War veteran is finally laid to rest
March 23, 2012|Staff report
U.S. Army Cpl. Chester Roper was finally laid to rest today, 60 years after the young man died in the Korean War as a prisoner of war. But without hearing anything about the whereabouts of the 20-year-old or even if the man was dead or alive, the family could not find closure and could never arrange for a funeral.
That changed in December when a Department of Defense special unit assigned to attach names to U.S. troops killed in past conflicts confirmed that unidentified remains held in Hawaii were those of Roper, who died in North Korea. They used dental records and an old X-ray of Roper's clavicle to make the identification.
Today, the fallen soldier was finally laid to rest near his family at Evergreen Cemetery in Evergreen Park surrounded by generations of relatives, some whom had never met the man but had learned about him through family stories.
A military honor guard stood at attention as a bugler played taps and Roper's relatives wiped away tears and received the folded American flag that rested on the brown wooden coffin.
His grave marker will be inscribed with his name and the message "Welcome home."
|
|
| Topics |
Author |
Date |
|
|
|
  |
Korean War Vet |
|
|
Buddy LST 1126 |
3/26/2012 10:03 am CDT |
|
|
|
|
James Craven |
3/29/2012 0:00 am CDT |
|
|
|
On May 21, 2005 a monument was unveiled in Seneca, Illinois, dedicated to all the workers, who built 157 LSTs at the Seneca “Prairie Shipyard” as well as all those who served on any LST during World War II, Korea, and Viet Nam. The monument contains seals of the US Navy, the US Coast Guard, the British LST Association, and the sponsoring organization, the Illinois LST Association.
The monument contains a sculpture of an LST on top of the gray marble center section. On the two flanking black marble sections are etchings of an LST being launched, an LST beached and unloading its cargo of tanks, and a woman shipyard welder. On the sides of the black sections all 157 LSTs constructed at Seneca are listed The monument stands in Crotty Park in Seneca, on property adjacent to the old Chicago Bridge and Iron shipyard.
Approximately 500 people from all over the country and Great Britain attended the dedication. After the dedication, approximately 200 of those in attendance gathered together for a catered lunch.
About 27,000 people worked at the shipyard during World War II. A number of those and/or their descendants attended the ceremony. They are rightly proud of their contribution to the war effort, as is the city of Seneca, Illinois, the home of the “Prairie Shipyard”.
During World War
2 there were 1051 LST's (Landing Ship Tank) built to carry
troops and supplies to American and Allied troops fighting
in Europe and the Pacific theaters. When WW2 ended most of
the LST's were scrapped, modified, or given to Navies of
other countries. Some remained in service and saw action in
Korea, Viet Nam, and even the Cuban Blockade.
A few WW2 type
LST's remain in service today, but not in the USA.
|
