Copyright M Live Michigan
AUGUSTA, MI — Thanks to modern science, a Michigan soldier’s remains were returned home to his family 75 years after he was declared missing in action. Descendants of Capt. Charles Graham Gibson Jr. gathered on Thursday, Oct. 16, at Fort Custer National Cemetery in Kalamazoo County. The long lost soldier received a military funeral honors ceremony that preceded his casket’s burial among thousands of other Michigan soldiers who rest in valor. Inside the casket was a portion of a left ulna bone, recovered from North Korean authorities seven years ago and identified by American scientists as Capt. Gibson’s remains six months ago. “Charles has now returned home to his final resting place among his fellow brothers and sisters who have served their nation honorably,” said Chaplain Gabriel Marquez during the ceremony. “A place that cannot be purchased for any amount of money. It can only be earned.” Gibson last left his wife and child sometime before Dec. 11, 1950, the day the U.S. Army declared its captain missing in action. Capt. Gibson was last seen alive fighting in a 17-day battle for positioning alongside the frozen Chosin Reservoir. It remains one of the 20th century’s most brutal and historically-referenced military battles. Melissa Wallace, the first-born of Capt. Gibson’s five grandchildren, never met her grandfather. Wallace said she wants the story of his 75-year journey home to offer optimism for other families of military members who never returned from battle. “I want this to reenergize people to keep looking, to keep asking questions,” Wallace told MLive’s Justin Engel, “to offer some hope that other families may still be reunited with their lost loved ones.” Read more about Capt. Gibson’s journey home by clicking here.
