[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18392]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF CORPORAL GEORGE CONKLIN

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM REED

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 10, 2013

  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life, service, and 
sacrifice of a constituent, Corporal George Conklin. Mr. Conklin of 
Phelps, New York, enlisted in the United States Army in 1949 at the 
young age of seventeen to answer our nation's call to service during 
the Korean War. Tragically, it took sixty-four years for him to return 
home.
  George Conklin was serving in the 7th Infantry Division's 31st 
Regimental Combat Team as a Private First-Class in Korea when he 
disappeared on December 2, 1950. Wounded in the leg, he was loaded onto 
a transport truck for evacuation, but soon thereafter, he and his 
colleagues went missing. It was not until the conclusion of the war in 
1953 that Corporal Conklin was formally classified as ``Killed In 
Action.'' The U.S. Army posthumously promoted him to the rank of 
Corporal and awarded him the Purple Heart.
  Corporal Conklin's family never gave up hope that one day he would 
return home. The family waited for over sixty years until this past 
September, when his niece, Karen DesCamp, finally received the news 
that she and George's other relatives had waited a lifetime for. After 
one of George's brothers donated a DNA sample to the Pentagon, Corporal 
Conklin's remains were positively identified at a laboratory in Hawaii.
  It is with humble appreciation that I acknowledge Corporal George 
Conklin's return home to Ontario County. Hundreds of civilians and 
military veterans joined a military honor guard to give him a final 
welcome home as the plane carrying his casket touched down in 
Rochester. He was then laid to rest next to his predeceased parents and 
two brothers in upstate New York.
  I cannot begin to imagine the feelings and emotions that have 
afflicted his family over the past six decades, but I am relieved to 
know that Corporal Conklin is finally back where he belongs, resting 
peacefully beside his loved ones. His ultimate sacrifice for the good 
of our nation and preservation of our freedom will never be forgotten.

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