A 4th Infantry Division soldier killed in World War II was reunited Thursday with his living next of kin in Texas.
Pvt. Myron Williams went missing in 1944 during a battle in the German Hürtgen Forest and later was buried in Belgium without being identified, said Major Gen. David Hodne during a Memorial Day ceremony at Fort Carson on Thursday. He was identified in 2022 through dental and anthropological analysis, as well as DNA analysis, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
Fourth Infantry Division soldiers are expected to pay tribute to Williams at his funeral next week, Hodne said.
The general also highlighted a Korean War Medal of Honor recipient, Corp. Luther Story, who was identified in April and will be buried in four days near his home in Georgia. The soldier died in 1950 during a battle near the Naktong River, when among other heroic acts, the wounded man stayed behind to hold off an assault as his company withdrew, according to the Medal of Honor Museum.
“The stories of Pvt. Williams and Corp. Story should encourage us,” Hodne said. “I am grateful for the steadfast and loyal efforts of dedicated citizens who meticulously poured over all available information to provide closure to their families to resolve to leave no one behind and to expend incredible effort so the nation could honor and remember them again.”
The ceremony also commemorated the 407 soldiers killed from Fort Carson since 2003 in the Global War on Terror and whose identities are inscribed in the stones of the Mountain Post Warrior Memorial.
Col. Sean Brown, the garrison commander of Fort Carson, served with some of the people commemorated on the wall, making it a personal ceremony for him.
“When I come to visit the memorial, I remember how much they meant to me then and it just renews how much they mean to be still today,” he said.
Robert and Lenora Wichmann were attending the ceremony for the 14th time, to honor their son Sgt. Grant Wichmann, who fought in Afghanistan and died in April 2010. For the pair, it is the first in a series of events over the Memorial Day weekend.
“We feel compelled to do it out of honor and respect for him,” said Robert Wichmann, who is also a volunteer for TAPS, a group that supports those grieving the deaths of service members and veterans.
He noted oftentimes those serving don’t have a chance to grieve because they must stay focused on their missions.
“They have brothers on each side of them, in front of them, behind them, they have to protect,” he said.
Hodne honored families like the Wichmanns who attended the ceremony for reminding the attendees of the real cost of duty.
“We are saddened by your sacrifice, inspired by your resilience and grateful for your continued service to our communities,” he said.
