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Korean War veteran is laid to rest at Fort Sam Houston as his last sibling finally says goodbye

Korean War Army Soldier Pfc. Arthur Clifton's casket is carried through the Patriot Guard Riders to the assembly area.
Saile Aranda
/
TPR
Korean War Army Soldier Pfc. Arthur Clifton's casket is carried through the Patriot Guard Riders to the assembly area.

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The remains of a Korean War veteran were recovered after almost 75 years, and he was laid to rest at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery on Friday.

U.S. Army Pfc. Arthur A. Clifton was 17 years old in the winter of 1950 when he trekked by the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. Chinese Communist forces attacked his unit, and after it retreated, he was reported missing in action.

Four years later, during Operation Glory, North Korea returned to the U.S. the remains of soldiers reportedly recovered from prisoner of war camps, United Nations cemeteries and isolated burial sites.

The remains were laid in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu as unknowns, and Clifton was declared non-recoverable.

The folded American Flag is delivered to U.S. Army Pfc. Arthur Clifton's sister, Lydia Clifton-Holland.
Saile Aranda
/
TPR
The folded U.S. flag is delivered to Lydia Clifton-Holland, the last surviving sibling of U.S. Army Pfc. Arthur Clifton.

But now, Clifton's family can say his journey didn't end in the frozen terrain of North Korea. Experts exhumed his remains and re-examined them using dental records and further DNA analysis. He was identified in August 2024.

His family was contacted. From six of Clifton's siblings, only his youngest sister, Lydia Clifton-Holland, was still alive to welcome her brother to his final resting place.

She said she couldn't remember what he looked like after almost 75 years. She could only remember bits and pieces of his presence in her childhood.

Portrait of U.S. Army Pfc. Arthur A. Clifton
Courtesy photo
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Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Portrait of U.S. Army Pfc. Arthur A. Clifton

"I still can't see his face, but I can picture him there when I was little," Clifton-Holland said. "Being with him, and him taking me to the little store to buy me bubble gum and candy ... but I cannot see his face."

Her son Wade Holland joined her at the ceremony. They both sat in front of the flag-covered casket to honor the service and sacrifice of the uncle Holland never had the chance to meet.

"It's hard to do this with somebody that in one hand you don't know, the other hand, you have a strong connection to," Holland spoke to the crowd who came to pay their respects. "We're here to do it. He's home."

Before Clifton was laid to rest, Clifton-Holland said she put a quarter in the jacket of her brother's uniform, fulfilling her final wish.

"Last time I saw him, I gave him a quarter ... I said, 'you take this and buy yourself a Coke," she explained. "He took it, so I'm sending another quarter with him."

Clifton was given full honors, and his sister received his folded U.S. flag.

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Gabriella Alcorta-Solorio is a reporter for Texas Public Radio. She recently graduated from Texas State University with a major in journalism, minoring in women’s studies. She has previously worked as a photojournalist with The Ranger and has reported on Alzheimer’s and dementia in South Texas using public health data. Her main focuses include reporting on health as well as military and veterans issues. Alcorta-Solorio is a U.S. Army veteran.