thedrifter
08-10-08, 05:48 AM
Fallen soldier set to get headstone
By Nathaniel Lukefahr
The Facts
Published August 10, 2008
Almost 53 years after he was laid to rest, a Houstonian and Purple Heart recipient will get recognition for falling on the battlefield.
Family members buried Marine Sgt. Gerald O. Davis Jr. at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston in 1955 after he died in Korea some five years earlier.
Military officials and family members are set to gather at the same cemetery Aug. 16 and adorn the unmarked grave with a large headstone displaying the fallen soldier’s name and honors, which also include the Bronze Star for bravery in combat.
“He has never had a headstone,” niece Jeri Whitehorn said. “He absolutely should have one for what he’s done.”
Davis’ duties included planning attacks to thwart the opposition. He was killed by gunfire on Dec. 8, 1950 in the Korean Chosin Reservoir, two days after the Battle of Chosin Reservoir ended, Whitehorn said. During the battle, which ran from Nov. 27 to Dec. 6, 30,000 American troops fought 130,000 Chinese troops.
Surrounded on all sides, with temperatures as cold as 50 degrees below zero, the marines went on one of the most infamous retreats in military history, battling their way 70 air miles through winding roads in mountains all the way to the coast, where it was safe.
Because of the extremely cold conditions the retreat is refereed to as the “Frozen Chosin” and survivors of the battle refer to themselves as the “Chosin Few.”
Whitehorn had thought Davis was buried in Korea, but discovered his gravesite in Houston last year. The 43-year-old Alvin resident since has worked to get a headstone for him, and after sending paperwork about Davis’ past to the Marines, she got word the headstone had arrived July 7.
Charles Ynman, vice commandant of the Marine Corps League’s Houston region, said it was an oversight Davis didn’t have a headstone for so long.
“It’s a shame that any person has a grave that goes unmarked for so many years,” he said. “It’s a necessary thing to do to honor someone who died in combat.”
He said cemetery officials had to consult a map to figure out where the grave was.
“If it wouldn’t have been for his niece, it may have gone unmarked for forever,” Ynman said.
At the time of his death Davis, was supposed to receive a headstone, but a mix-up between either the funeral home or the Marines caused the grave to sit unmarked for more than half a century.
Whitehorn’s father, Sam Hill, who’s the half-brother of Davis, never took family members to visit the grave because the two never spoke.
“Really, he never talked about his brother so I never knew him,” Whitehorn said.
But Davis’ nickname was Jerry, and Whitehorn’s name is Jeri.
“The one thing I know is that I was supposed to be his namesake,” she said. “But I never got the extra Y chromosome, so I became Jeri. That’s pretty much all I know about him.”
When the family gathers around the grave and sees it marked with flowers and a national flag, she said it will be a great day.
“When they brought him home, they had a small funeral for him,” she said. “But he had already been dead for five years, so it wasn’t very big.”
Ynman said during the event, members of the Houston Police Department will play “Taps” after members of the American Legion have a 21-gun salute. Members of the Gold Star Mothers, the Purple Heart Association and 20 members from the “Chosin Few” will be on hand. The Brazoria County Cavalry will escort family members from Angleton to the cemetery.
Nathaniel Lukefahr is a reporter for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 237-0151.
Ellie
By Nathaniel Lukefahr
The Facts
Published August 10, 2008
Almost 53 years after he was laid to rest, a Houstonian and Purple Heart recipient will get recognition for falling on the battlefield.
Family members buried Marine Sgt. Gerald O. Davis Jr. at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston in 1955 after he died in Korea some five years earlier.
Military officials and family members are set to gather at the same cemetery Aug. 16 and adorn the unmarked grave with a large headstone displaying the fallen soldier’s name and honors, which also include the Bronze Star for bravery in combat.
“He has never had a headstone,” niece Jeri Whitehorn said. “He absolutely should have one for what he’s done.”
Davis’ duties included planning attacks to thwart the opposition. He was killed by gunfire on Dec. 8, 1950 in the Korean Chosin Reservoir, two days after the Battle of Chosin Reservoir ended, Whitehorn said. During the battle, which ran from Nov. 27 to Dec. 6, 30,000 American troops fought 130,000 Chinese troops.
Surrounded on all sides, with temperatures as cold as 50 degrees below zero, the marines went on one of the most infamous retreats in military history, battling their way 70 air miles through winding roads in mountains all the way to the coast, where it was safe.
Because of the extremely cold conditions the retreat is refereed to as the “Frozen Chosin” and survivors of the battle refer to themselves as the “Chosin Few.”
Whitehorn had thought Davis was buried in Korea, but discovered his gravesite in Houston last year. The 43-year-old Alvin resident since has worked to get a headstone for him, and after sending paperwork about Davis’ past to the Marines, she got word the headstone had arrived July 7.
Charles Ynman, vice commandant of the Marine Corps League’s Houston region, said it was an oversight Davis didn’t have a headstone for so long.
“It’s a shame that any person has a grave that goes unmarked for so many years,” he said. “It’s a necessary thing to do to honor someone who died in combat.”
He said cemetery officials had to consult a map to figure out where the grave was.
“If it wouldn’t have been for his niece, it may have gone unmarked for forever,” Ynman said.
At the time of his death Davis, was supposed to receive a headstone, but a mix-up between either the funeral home or the Marines caused the grave to sit unmarked for more than half a century.
Whitehorn’s father, Sam Hill, who’s the half-brother of Davis, never took family members to visit the grave because the two never spoke.
“Really, he never talked about his brother so I never knew him,” Whitehorn said.
But Davis’ nickname was Jerry, and Whitehorn’s name is Jeri.
“The one thing I know is that I was supposed to be his namesake,” she said. “But I never got the extra Y chromosome, so I became Jeri. That’s pretty much all I know about him.”
When the family gathers around the grave and sees it marked with flowers and a national flag, she said it will be a great day.
“When they brought him home, they had a small funeral for him,” she said. “But he had already been dead for five years, so it wasn’t very big.”
Ynman said during the event, members of the Houston Police Department will play “Taps” after members of the American Legion have a 21-gun salute. Members of the Gold Star Mothers, the Purple Heart Association and 20 members from the “Chosin Few” will be on hand. The Brazoria County Cavalry will escort family members from Angleton to the cemetery.
Nathaniel Lukefahr is a reporter for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 237-0151.
Ellie