[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S5535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING PRIVATE FIRST CLASS MELVIN J. LITTLE BEAR

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, earlier this week, more than 71 years after 
he was killed in the Korean war, U.S. Army Private First Class Melvin 
J. Little Bear was returned home to McLaughlin, SD.
  In 1951, Private First Class Little Bear, a native of Standing Rock, 
was a member of A Battery, 15th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry 
Division. On February 13, 1951, he was reported missing in action after 
his unit was attacked by Chinese communist forces, at which point his 
unit conducted a 2-day fighting withdrawal from Changbong-ni, South 
Korea, to Wonju. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war at POW 
Camp Number 1 in North Korea, where POW reports show he died in 
captivity later that summer.
  In 1954, Private First Class Little Bear's unidentified remains were 
returned to U.N. command under Operation GLORY. However, because 
investigators were unable to identify to whom they belonged, his 
remains were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in 
Honolulu, HI, in 1956.
  Through the dedication and preservation of the Defense POW/MIA 
Accounting Agency, the remains of Private First Class Little Bear were 
finally identified on July 13, 2022, through DNA matching. Seventy-one 
years after being captured and killed, his remains have finally been 
returned to his family in McLaughlin, SD, where he will be laid to rest 
in eternal peace at All Nations Veteran's Cemetery on September 30, 
2022.
  I consider it an honor to pay tribute to Private First Class Melvin 
J. Little Bear. May his family and his Oyate find comfort in knowing 
that his remains will soon be laid to rest and the legacy of his 
service and sacrifice to our Nation will live on.

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