[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 84 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E466]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SPECIAL RECOGNITION OF THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF CORPORAL CLARK E. 
                                WORLINE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT E. LATTA

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 18, 2023

  Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and remember the 
life and service of a dedicated American, Corporal Clark E. Worline. 
Corporal Worline was born on May 19, 1930. He enlisted in the Army in 
June 1947 and was assigned to the U.S. Army Chemical Center in Maryland 
until his unit was sent to the Republic of Korea during the Korean War.
  Corporal Worline served with Charlie Company, 2nd Chemical Mortar 
Battalion, Eighth U.S. Army. His unit was part of the Second Infantry 
Division which came under heavy attack on November 24, 1950, during the 
Battle of Chongchon against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces in 
the vicinity of Sinjang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea. 
Corporal Worline's unit was surrounded the next day, and six soldiers 
from his unit were reported missing in action on November 26, 1950. 
While no witness accounts or other historical records exist, the Army 
believes he may have been captured and marched to a temporary holding 
camp known as Death Valley in December 1950. In March 1951, a group of 
POWs were marched to POW Camp 5, located at Pyoktong, along the Yalu 
River in North Korea. Corporal Worline was likely in a group of 109 
prisoners that made the march. Corporal Worline was never returned, and 
the U.S. Army declared him dead on December 31, 1953. He was 
posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal and also received the 
Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the Korean 
Presidential Unit Citation, and the Republic of Korea War Service 
Medal.
  During Operation GLORY, the exchange of dead between combatant 
countries of the Korean War in Autumn 1954, remains that were recovered 
from POW Camp 5, Pyoktong, North Korea, were returned to the U.S. Army. 
One set of Camp 5 remains was designated Unknown X-14326 and interred 
at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as The 
Punchbowl, in Hawaii.
  In August 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency analyzed those 
remains for possible identification through match with any soldier 
known to have been buried at Camp 5. Although Corporal Worline was not 
reported as having been at Camp 5, the presence of two other soldiers 
from his unit at that camp and historical precedence that POWs often 
remained at such camps without the knowledge of others around them 
established the possibility that Corporal Worline died there without 
his presence or death being noted by either the North Korean People's 
Army or other American POWs.
  His remains were identified on September 9, 2022, by The Defense POW/
MIA Accounting Agency. Their review made positive identification and 
allowed Corporal Worline to begin his final journey home. As part of 
his repatriation, the Honorable Transfer of Remains from Dayton 
International Airport took place on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. After 
Corporal Worline's memorial service on Friday, May 19, he will finally 
be laid to rest at Fairview Cemetery in his hometown of Dupont, Ohio 
with full military honors.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask our colleagues to join me in paying special 
tribute to the life and service of Corporal Clark E. Worline. On behalf 
of the people of Northwest Ohio, we recognize the sacrifice that 
Corporal Worline made for his country, and we thank his family for his 
service to our Nation.

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