MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A deceased U.S. soldier is finally home in the Mid-South after being missing for 64 years. Family members gathered at Memphis International Airport on Sunday to take Cpl. George Mason home to Byhalia, Mississippi.
Mason was last seen in 1951. He was only about 19 when the army lost track of him during the Korean War.
“A man came around with a telegram and read it. That’s how we knew,” Mason’s younger brother Albert said. “It said he was MIA, missing in action, That’s all we really knew.”
Albert Mason was 10 when he learned his brother was missing in North Korea while fighting to protect millions.
“For the first three or four years it was rough,” Albert Mason said.
“First they heard he was missing in action. Then they heard he was a prisoner of war. Shortly after that when North Korea came out with a list of prisoners, he was not on it,” Patriot Guard rider Don McKibben said.
Cpl. George Mason’s parents died after the family received the first telegram. Family members said they believe his mother and father died of broken hearts.
In September, Mason received a call from Fort Knox. The call proved that even though his brother hadn’t been seen or heard from in decades, the military never forgot his story or sacrifice.
“He said, ‘I found George.’ I said, ‘What are talking about?” recalled Albert Mason.
On Sunday, many who received Cpl. George Mason’s remains at Memphis International Airport were not even alive when Mason entered the service as a teenager.
“It’s just a happy time,” Jeanne Mason, Albert’s wife, said.
“It reminds us of all of those that have sacrificed their lives for the freedoms we have in the country. We appreciate it,” McKibben said.
“I think it’s a blessing, everything is together now,” Albert Mason said.
On Tuesday, Cpl. George Mason will be laid to rest next to his parents in Byhalia.
