City of Grygla



A soldier comes home

Remains of a Korean War soldier returns

The remains of Army Cpl. Harold Axel Evans, 22, Linsell township, Marshall County, will be buried Oct. 12 in Thief River Falls. The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced Thursday, Oct. 3, that the remains of Evans, who had been missing from the Korean War, had been identified and would be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

The Veterans of Affairs Honor Guard of Thief River Falls and representatives of the Patriot Guard are expected to participate in the funeral. The funeral procession from Johnson Funeral Home to Greenwood Cemetery in Thief River Falls will begin at 10:45 a.m. The graveside service will begin at 11 a.m.

In late 1950, Evans was a member of the Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Regimental Combat Team, which was deployed east of the Chosin Reservoir near Sinhung-ri, South Hamgyong Province, North Korea. After engaging in battle with enemy forces east of the Chosin Reservoir, members of the 31st RCT, historically known as Task Force Faith, began a fighting withdrawal to a more defensible position. Evans was reported missing on Dec. 12, 1950.

Lori Evans of Olympia, Wash., said Harold grew up on a farm north of Grygla with his three brothers and sisters. He was the son of Axel and Charlotte Evans, the sixth of seven children. Lori said none of his siblings are alive today. In 1945, the family moved to Shelton, Wash. It was there, in Mason County, that Harold made the decision to join the military and become a member of the United States Army. Lori said she wasn’t sure where Harold had attended school, probably Grygla.

The last communication the family had from Harold was a letter to his parents dated Nov. 23, 1950 (Thanksgiving Day). He wrote: “I sure wish I was there with you, but it won’t be long. I’m getting kind of homesick now when I’m here fighting this war, but don’t worry about me. I’ll be all right.”

In the years to follow, Lori said much correspondence took place, spear-headed by Harold’s brothers and sisters to help determine what happened to him. His brother, Glenn, received a letter dated Oct. 27, 1952, written by Harold’s commanding officer, 1st Lt. Infantry, Henry E. Trawick. In it, he re-counts, to the best of his ability, what happened in those final days.

“Your brother drove jeep for me. Driving a jeep is not a very easy or pleasant job. It is a particularly unpleasant job in a country like Korea where a driver constantly fights the bad roads, mountains and weather elements in addition to fighting the enemy that is everywhere.

“On the 25th of November, 1950, we left the Fusan Reservoir and drove for three days and nights with our rifles in our laps. We rode over mountains and roads that were indescribable. We stopped only for short catnaps and to eat cold “C” rations. After the three days of hard driving, we arrived on the Chosen Reservoir to relieve the Marines. We were worn out.

“We moved into the Marine area during the early part of the night and went to bed. I cannot recall seeing your brother Harold again after that day, 27 November 1950.

The following morning at 0300 hours, a division (10,000 to 15,000 soldiers) of Chinese hit our small Battalion (300 to 1,000 soldiers). We were completely surrounded and cut off from the nearest friendly outfit, the Marines, who were 12 miles south of our positions.

“We remained in this area awaiting reinforcements for three days. When it was discovered they could not reach us we were ordered out.

“The area we left was littered with unburied dead, both Chinese and our own troops, for as far as the eye could see. We loaded the wounded personnel on all the trucks that would still move and started the 12-mile trip toward the Marine area.

“We fought for nine miles. Every hill top and every valley of those nine miles was littered with dead or wounded. Three miles from the Marines, the trucks were stopped cold. We were out of ammunition and only a handful of troops able to fight were left. The Chinese had a strong road block we could not penetrate. That is as far as the trucks loaded with wounded ever got.

“I am sorry I cannot help you further. I only wish I could remember everyone I saw and what happened to each person, but I was very busy at the time and pretty badly wounded so things are a little hazy.”

Lori said that in the years to follow, parents Axel and Lottie, siblings Harry (Vi), Myrtle, Glenn, Margaret (Clifford), Helen (Frankie), and Kenneth along with Margaret’s son Gary, passed away. 

According to the news release from the Department of Defense, between 1991 and 1994, North Korea gave the United States 208 boxes of human remains believed to contain the remains of 350 to 400 U.S. servicemen. North Korean documents, turned over with some of the boxes, indicated that some of the remains were recovered from the area where Evans was believed to have died in 1950, near the Chosin Reservoir.

To identify Evans’ remains, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, such as dental comparison, radiograph comparisons and DNA analysis. Two forms of DNA were used to identify Evans, Mitochondrial DNA, which matched his sister, and Y-STR DNA, which matched his brother.

Lori said her mother Margaret, and Harold’s brother Glenn, who then lived in North Dakota, contributed DNA for the analysis. Margaret and Glenn, the last surviving siblings, died two years ago. Lori said the family learned that Harold’s remains had been identified in August of 2013.

Lori said she wasn’t sure how many of his brothers served in the military at the time, but thought two of them had. She added that this was her second military funeral. Her brother, Gary, died in Vietnam. She said she believed that Harold’s Mother, Father and brother are buried in Thief River Falls.

Lori said, “We are so very happy to have Harold back. His parents, brothers and sisters waited so long to hear news. Sixty years is a long time. They are gone now. This means a great deal to the family remaining.

“It means so much to have Harold home on U.S. soil There are so many families waiting to hear, from this war and others. In that respect, we are one of the lucky ones.

“We are grateful for the difficult and tedious work that has gone into this by our government. The personnel who work these cases are amazing and dedicated. I am very impressed by the process.”

Today, more than 7,900 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously turned over by North Korean officials.

Evans said the release of Harold’s remains has had a positive impact on the family. She said it has brought them together and resulted in more communication between the family, which is spread all over the U.S. She said they anticipate 11 members of the family, which includes spouses and children, will attend the graveside service.

Harold is survived by numerous nephews and nieces along with the families as well as a brother-in-law Conward Southard (Myrtle) and sisters-in-law AnnaRose (Glenn) and Jean (Kenneth) many of whom will be making the trip to Thief River Falls.

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