After nearly 70 years, Charles H. McDaniel will finally rest in peace.
Funeral services will be Oct. 27 for McDaniel, an Indiana native who was presumed killed in action in 1950 during the Korean War. McDaniel’s remains have been identified by the Department of Defense to be among the 55 cases of remains returned by the North Korean government in July.
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon at Community Church of Greenwood, 1477 W. Main St. The funeral will follow at noon. Graveside services with military honors will immediately follow at Forest Lawn Funeral Home, 1977 S. SR 135, Greenwood.
Master Sgt. Charles H. McDaniel was U.S. Army medic, serving first in World War II before being promoted back to active duty to serve in the Korean War. His unit had been called on to help the South Korean army after it was overwhelmed by Chinese forces in late 1950. He went missing on Nov. 2, 1950 at Unsan, an area in North Korea just miles north of Pyongyang.
According to an Army profile on him, there is no evidence that he was captured and held as a prisoner of war. An eyewitness to the battle told military leaders that he was killed in action while working with the wounded.
For decades, his family was left to wonder what had happened to him, said his son, Charles McDaniel Jr. during an interview in August.
But following President Trump’s agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June, North Korea turned over 55 boxes of remains believed to be from U.S. soldiers.
Within one of those boxes, forensic investigators found a dog tag that belonged to McDaniel. McDaniel Jr. and his brother, Larry McDaniel, were presented with the dog tag in August, but had to wait until the Pentagon did DNA testing to determine if any of the remains were of their father.
The family received confirmation that McDaniel had been identified on Sept. 12. His remains were one of first to be confirmed.
