Remains of soldier returned last year by North Korea buried in Michigan hometown

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Dozens of military veterans and others stood at attention as a military honor guard removed an American flag from the casket of a Michigan soldier who died during the Korean War.

The honor came during Saturday’s burial ceremony at a Traverse City cemetery for Army Cpl. Charles Stanley Lawler, who was 19 when the military reported him missing after his unit was attacked near Unsan, North Korea, in 1950.

Military officials say scientists used DNA tests and other evidence to identify his remains in May among those turned over to the U.S. by North Korea last year.

More US troops from Korean War identified from 55 boxes of remains returned by North Korea

The U.S. military says it has identified the remains of three more Americans killed during the Korean War, even as efforts to recover additional remains have stalled amid souring relations with North Korea.

Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press

May 28, 2019

Lawler’s relatives his burial was closing an excruciating chapter as his deceased mother always held out hope that he had been captured and not killed during the war.