City honors fallen Korean War veteran
By ANGELINA DICKSON, Staff writerArticle Photos
The city of Weirton honored fallen Korean War veteran Sgt. Robert C. Bockey Friday with a military funeral procession that began at Greco-Hertnick Funeral Home and ended at St. Paul's Cemetery.
Gov. Joe Manchin ordered all U.S. and state flags to be displayed at half staff Friday in commemoration of the life and service of Bockey.
Family gathered in the funeral home as military personnel, representatives from the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Patriot Guard, and city officials attended the viewing, which began at 9 a.m., as well as the funeral, which began at 11 a.m. and concluded at approximately 1 p.m. at St. Paul's Cemetery.
Mayor Mark Harris stated that, in his opinion, it is amazing that they have been able to find and identify Bockey after all these years. He said it is a tragedy for the family to have had a lack of closure for so long, but is glad to see the "fallen hero" return home.
"On behalf of the City of Weirton, we give our deepest sympathy to the family of Sgt. Bockey," he said. "He served his country well and we appreciate his service to our country."
Harris added that it is comforting to know that the military continuously works to find and bring home all prisoners of war and those missing in action.
The Rev. Dean Borgmeyer of St. Joseph the Worker Church officiated the services.
According to a press release issued Friday, Bockey, a native of Weirton, enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1948 and was deployed to serve in Korea as a member of Company C, 65th Combat Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division. Bockey and other members of his company disappeared during a battle located near the Kuryong River in North Korea and were reported missing in action Nov. 27, 1950.
The report also stated that in 2000, a joint United States - Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, excavated a site overlooking the Kuryong River in Pyongan-Pukto Province, Korea, where U.S. soldiers were believed to be buried, and the remains of Bockey were identified among those found.
Bockey's remains were returned to the United States earlier this week and escorted to Weirton by the West Virginia Honor Guard. Bockey was buried with full military honors and received an 18-gun salute to honor the fallen before the flag was presented to his family.
(Dickson can be contacted at adickson@weirtondailytimes.com)
