Homecoming for Korean War Hero Missing In Action

A Hero's HomecomingWASHINGTON D.C. – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that Army Cpl. Stephen P. Nemec, 21, of Cleveland, Ohio, killed during the Korean War, has been accounted for.

On Friday, June 28, 2019, Cpl. Nemec will be flown into Raleigh-Durham International Airport and then transported to New Bern, NC where he will be received by Veterans groups and members of the public who will assemble to hold flags on Neuse Boulevard as his procession arrives.

Visitation for Cpl. Nemec will be held on Monday, July 1, 2019 from 6 to 8 p.m. which will be preceded by a brief ceremony at 5:30 p.m. wherein he will be posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

The next day, on Tuesday, July 2, 2019, a funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. at the Cotten Funeral Home Chapel to honor his life and legacy of service to our Great Nation. He will then be laid to rest at New Bern National Cemetery with full military honors.

The visitation and the service for Cpl. Nemec are open to the public.

Members of the public who wish to show their support are also invited to participate in two different opportunities to be a part of an “Avenue of Flags” in honor of Cpl. Nemec. The first opportunity will take place as his procession arrives at Cotten Funeral Home on the afternoon of Friday, June 28, 2019. Those wishing to participate are invited to gather at Cotten Funeral Home at 3 p.m. The funeral home will have about 150 flags to lend to those wishing to participate. Participants are also encouraged to bring a lawn chair, umbrella, and their own flag just in case, since the flags provided by the funeral home will be in limited supply.

The second opportunity will take place on the morning of Tuesday, July 2, 2019. Those wishing to participate are asked to park at the Ruth’s Chapel Free Will Baptist Church parking lot at 10 a.m. Shuttle service will be provided from there to the National Cemetery just down the road. Staff members of Cotten Funeral Home will be present to distribute flags but they will only have a limited supply. Participants are encouraged to bring their own flags, a lawn chair and an umbrella, if desired.

Funeral Director, Rex Bennett, who is coordinating the effort, said, “Cpl. Nemec reminds us that freedom does not come without a price. Our hope is that as many people as possible will come out to show their love and appreciation for his sacrifice. Although he died 69 years ago, may his sacrifice never be forgotten.”

In late 1950, Nemec was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, engaged in heavy fighting against the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF)at Turtle Head’s Bend, near the village of Unsan, North Korea.  According to historical reports, Nemec was killed in action on Nov. 2, 1950, and was buried at United Nation’s Military Cemetery (UNMC) Pyongyang.  As the United Nations’ situation in North Korea worsened, circumstances forced the closing of the cemetery on Dec. 3, 1950, and those buried there could not be recovered.

Following the war, during the exchange of war dead known as “Operation Glory,” UN forces returned approximately 14,000 sets of remains to the Chinese and North Koreans, and received more than 4,000 sets of remains from isolated burials, POW camp cemeteries and temporary UN cemeteries, including UNMC Pyongyang.  The remains were turned over to the Central Identification Unit in Kokura, Japan.

No remains could be associated with Nemec, and all unidentified remains, including a set designated “X-16718” were interred as Korean War unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

On March 26, 2018, DPAA disinterred “X-16718” from the Punchbowl and sent the remains to the laboratory for analysis.

To identify Nemec’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological, and chest radiograph comparison analysiswhich; as well as circumstantial evidence.

DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.

Today, 7,663 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by North Korean officials or recovered from North Korea by American recovery teams.  Nemec’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For more information, please contact:

Submitted by: Rex Bennett, Funeral Director, Cotten Funeral Home & Crematory