[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 8, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2230-S2231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  REMEMBERING CORPORAL WILLIAM F. DAY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a fallen soldier 
from my home State, the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Nearly 64 years after 
being killed in the Korean war, Army CPL William F. Day's remains were 
finally returned home last week.

[[Page S2231]]

  Corporal Day was 25 years old when he was deployed to the Chosin 
Reservoir in North Korea. On November 29, 1950, his company was 
overwhelmed by enemy forces and began a fighting withdrawal from their 
position. Three days later, Corporal Day was reported missing in 
action.
  Gloria Shonrock, Day's daughter, was only 4 at the time and has lived 
her life not knowing the location of her father's final resting place. 
Unbeknownst to her at the time, Day's remains were contained in one of 
208 boxes given to the United States by North Korea between 1991 and 
1994. Two years ago, Shonrock provided her DNA to the Department of 
Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office, which they were able to use to 
identify her father's remains.
  Now, over 60 years after being reported missing in action, Corporal 
Day is back in his old Kentucky home. Day was laid to rest yesterday in 
La Center, KY, next to his mother, Mattie Day, in a funeral with full 
military honors.
  Corporal Day made the ultimate sacrifice in giving his life for our 
country. That his remains were returned home after so many years is a 
remarkable testament to our Nation's commitment to leaving no man 
behind. I ask that my Senate colleagues join me in honoring this fallen 
hero.
  The Paducah Sun recently published an article chronicling the 
incredible story of the discovery and return of Corporal Day's remains. 
I ask unanimous consent that the full article be printed in the Record.

                  [From The Paducah Sun, Apr. 3, 2014]

                La Center Korean War Veteran Comes Home

                           (By Leanne Fuller)

       Army Corporal William F. Day, of La Center, was reported 
     missing in North Korea on Dec. 2, 1950. After a long and 
     winding search of nearly 64 years, his remains were brought 
     home Wednesday.
       Day's daughter, Gloria Shonrock--along with her husband, 
     Ernie Shonrock; other relatives, and two military liaisons--
     brought the veteran's remains from Nashville, Tenn., to 
     Morrow Funeral Chapel in La Center Wednesday. They were 
     escorted from Nashville by Patriot Guard Riders, Shonrock 
     said, and welcomed into Ballard County with an escort of 
     firetrucks, ambulances and police vehicles.
       Shonrock was four when her father was reported missing. 
     While Shonrock's mother didn't talk about Day often while she 
     was growing up, the absence was still felt.
       ``I'd sit at the recess and cry because I wanted my daddy 
     and--you know--you grow out of that, but you still want your 
     dad,'' she said.
       Shonrock said she has been searching for information about 
     her father since 1992, a search that took her from her home 
     in Erie, Colo., to Washington, D.C., and La Center.
       Day's remains were found among 208 boxes of remains North 
     Korea gave the United States between 1991 and 1994. In a 
     recent announcement of the identification of Day's remains, 
     the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) 
     said the boxes were believed to contain remains of 350 to 400 
     U.S. servicemen.
       However, the remains were heavily commingled, which made 
     identification difficult. Two years ago, Shonrock provided 
     DNA to help identify her father's remains. Five years ago, 
     she said, her uncle, Herman Day, and her father's niece, 
     Mattie Terrell, also provided DNA.
       In the search for her father, Shonrock attended yearly DPMO 
     conferences in Washington and various cities across the 
     country. At last year's conference, she said, X-ray records 
     had been found that could possibly be used to identify the 
     remains.
       ``And between the DNA and those X-rays, they found my 
     dad,'' Shonrock said.
       Scientists from the Joint POW/MIS Accounting Command and 
     the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used the DNA 
     and X-rays to identify Day's remains, which were located in 
     Hawaii before they were flown to Nashville. Shonrock said Day 
     was the 100th person identified from the remains contained in 
     the 208 boxes.
       ``It's been hell sometimes, and good other times,'' 
     Shonrock said of the long process. ``And then it's been hell 
     again because you have to deal with the government, and you 
     sit there and hurry up and wait.''
       Among the good that came out of her search is that a 
     military office in Colorado helped connect Shonrock with 
     relatives on her dad's side of the family.
       ``I had an aunt in Washington, and I had this aunt and 
     uncle here in Kentucky,'' Shonrock said. ``And I've been here 
     many times to see them.''
       On Monday, Day will be buried in La Center--with full 
     military honors--next to his mother, Mattie Day. Day's name 
     is among those listed on the veterans monument at Ballard 
     Memorial High School, and before the funeral a memorial 
     service will be held in his honor at the school.
       According to the DPMO, Day was assigned to Company C, 32nd 
     Infantry Regiment, 31st Regimental Combat Team in November 
     1950, deployed east of North Korea's Chosin Reservoir. The 
     31st RCT, known as Task Force Faith, was engaged by 
     ``overwhelming numbers of Chinese forces.'' On Nov. 29, 1950, 
     what was left of the task force began fighting a withdrawal 
     to positions near Hagaru-ri, south of the reservoir.
       ``Personally it's a closure that I don't have to worry 
     about where he's at anymore,'' Shonrock said, ``or whether 
     he's in a ditch in Korea in the frozen area where he passed 
     away, or . . . where he's at: because he's been in Hawaii 
     since 1992-94.''

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