A Korean War Veteran's remains have been returned to his family.
Private First Class William J. Winchester was twenty years old when he was reportedly captured by the Volunteer Forces at Prisoner of War Camp #5. He later died as a prisoner of war (POW) on February 28th, 1951, as witnessed by another POW.
Winchester was born on May 5th, 1930 in Mt. Hope, Alabama. He married Millie Ann Cowan-Winchester in 1950, where together they had a son James W. Winchester on December 2nd, 1950. James later passed away in 2011, never having a chance to see his father and never having a chance to see his father properly laid to rest. Millie Ann moved to Lima later on in her life. She passed away in November of 1984.
It wasn't until 2019 when the Winchester Family received news that William's remains were properly identified. William's grandchildren as well as James' children were notified and proceeded to honor his legacy by holding a funeral service at Memorial park Cemetery on August 10th, 2021.
"It's like having a puzzle all put together, and you can't find that one piece, but it was right there in front of you," said James L. Winchester, William's Grandson. "The family no matter where we lived, in Alabama or in Ohio, the family members that we came in contact with it, we always talk about him."
William's other grandchildren attended the ceremony in order to honor William. They also wanted to honor their father, James W. Winchester, who never got to see his father buried.
"I feel like it was a gift for us that my grandmother, my father, as well as my granddad for us as the children to carry on this legacy and what this means," said Tiphany Winchester.
William was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously and also received other recognitions during the service. The awards were handed to his grandchildren.
"It means that we are going to have closure," said Tawana Winchester. "We all will be in peace now, and he can be in peace as well... he's going to go on to a better place."
