A once-unknown soldier killed in Korean War finally comes home for tribute at Benning

A soldier from Columbus who was lost in the very early days of the Korean War — and whose remains for decades lay as “unknown” in a national cemetery in Hawaii — made his final journey Thursday for a homecoming service that is scheduled Saturday at Fort Benning.

The newly identified remains of Sgt. 1st Class James Silas Streetman Jr. were returned aboard an American Airlines flight to Atlanta, coming from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, which is known as the “Punchbowl” for its location in a volcano crater.

A group of veterans on motorcycles escorted Streetman from Atlanta’s airport to Columbus despite the rain and wind along the way, with arrival just after 5 p.m. at McMullen Funeral Home and Crematory on Gentian Boulevard.

“I know a lot of civilians are going to say that we’re making too much of this. But you need to understand that every veteran looks at that and they all think except for the grace of God, there go I. It could have been me,” Columbus resident and retired Army Lt. Col. Sam Nelson said Thursday.

“Just about every veteran will have somebody that got left behind or somebody that never came home and we didn’t find his body. I know I have one,” said Nelson, who with his wife, Sallie, has been helping the Streetman family get the word out about his homecoming. “Quite frankly, you know in your heart that they’re never going to get them all, but it just feels so doggone good to bring one home occasionally, and it makes you feel like there’s still hope (for others).”

The funeral service for Streetman, who was killed in action at age 20 during fighting in July 1950 just as the Korean War was beginning, is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday inside The Infantry Chapel at Fort Benning, followed by burial with full military honors at Main Post Cemetery. The tribute will close with the song, “Amazing Grace,” played by bagpipe.

“In 1994, we had a memorial service for him at Fort Benning. But this time we’re going to be celebrating his life, the life that he gave for his country,” Streetman’s baby sister and Columbus resident Sharon Streetman Ray said recently of the family’s efforts to bring their loved one back to Columbus after being so far away more than 68 years.

The remains of Streetman were identified in August by the U.S. Department of Defense, using DNA analysis and other X-rays, materials and additional information. They had rested at the cemetery in Hawaii since 1956 after they were classified as “unidentifiable” and sent there along with the remains of nearly 850 other service members who died in action.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, which makes announcements that remains have been identified, did so for Streetman on Sept. 6. It says the Columbus native, who was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, was among those defending the Kum River Line against the Korean People’s Army near the town of Taejon, Korea.

“Outmaneuvered and overwhelmed,” Streetman’s regiment was forced to fight fiercely as it withdrew through enemy lines, the announcement said. Streetman was initially reported killed in action on Aug. 14, 1950, but a review of historical records placed his death on July 22, 1950.

Streetman Ray said the mental journey for the family to this moment — including the long-held hopes of her mother, Lillian, that her son somehow might be found alive — has been wrought with emotions. It was in 2001 that the mother and daughter submitted DNA testing in hopes that it might turn up a match from remains somewhere, but nothing materialized until last year when additional testing took place. Their mother had since passed away.

“It’s been 18 years and technology has advanced, so they started identifying a few of them out there,” Streetman Ray said. “I hoped that he was somewhere and they would discover him. But I didn’t know where.”

Nelson said Thursday he expects a large turnout for Streetman’s funeral on Saturday, with several veterans groups having been contacted, including those with Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. Other veteran-based motorcycle groups that should be there, he said, include the Patriot Guard and the Blue Knights.

There also could be a contingent from the same unit that Streetman was assigned to when he died in Korea, Nelson said. That’s because Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment is now based at Fort Benning, tasked with basic combat training for soldiers entering the military. Nelson said a post chaplain informed the unit’s commander recently of the homecoming.

“The battalion commander called him and said we’ll be burying our guy. So he’s literally going to be buried by his home regiment,” said Nelson, who doesn’t know if a large group of basic training soldiers might be on hand for the funeral, although he thinks it would be a great idea.

“It’s good for them to see that the Army takes care of its own. Even after so many years, he’s still a 19th Infantry soldier,” he said.

Visitation for Streetman will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at McMullen Funeral Home, 3874 Gentian Blvd. Nelson asks that all who can do so to stop by and pay their respects by signing the registry for the fallen soldier who has returned home.

“We would like for this to be the biggest visitation book in the history of Columbus,” he said.

James Silas Streetman Jr. was born Dec. 20, 1929, to James Silas Streetman Sr. and Lillian Vondula Hurtt Streetman.

Survivors at the time of his death in July 1950 included his parents (both now deceased); brothers, Bobby, and Michael (now deceased), sisters, Lillian (now deceased), Eunie Mae, Frances, Maryln (now deceased), and Sharon. Extended family includes many nephews, nieces and cousins.