By Brian Gray
bgray@ themonroetimes.com
DURAND, Ill. - After almost 60 years, Cpl. Roger Denny is finally home.
Denny was killed in November 1950 while fighting the Chinese in North Korea.
His funeral is at 11 a.m. Saturday at McCorkle Funeral Home, 101 Main St., Durand, Ill. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Cemetery, Albany.
Denny was listed as "missing In action," until just a few months ago, when the Army was able to identify his body through DNA tests conducted with his brother, Terry, who lives in Durand, Ill., and his sister, Mary, who lives in Knoxville, Tenn.
Roger Denny was 17-years-old when he enlisted in the United States Army in 1949, Terry, 81, said. The family lived in Illinois, but they had relatives in Green County.
Terry remembered his brother as "a good kid."
"People liked him. Kids liked him. I always thought that if kids liked you, you must be OK," he said.
Roger was out of school and looking for a job before he enlisted in the Army. Jobs were scarce, Terry said. Terry had been discharged from the service a short time earlier, and he suggested his younger brother enlist in the Army. They pay you, feed you and give you a place to live, he told his younger brother.
Terry had no way of knowing at the time he encouraged Roger to enlist that within a few months North Korea would invade South Korea. He didn't know the United States would once again be involved in a war. He regrets his advice, Terry said.
"World War II was over," he said. "I didn't think we'd have another war. I felt bad about it. I still do."
After the North Koreans invaded South Korea in June 1950, Denny was sent to Korea.
Denny turned 18, Nov. 12, 1950, fighting in North Korea. By the time of his birthday, the Army, along with other troops from the United Nations, had pushed the North Koreans almost to the Chinese border. It appeared the war would soon be over. Things changed when Communist China sent hundreds of thousands of troops over the boarder to support the North Koreans.
Denny and his fellow soldiers were fighting for their lives in the Chongchon River Valley, in northwestern North Korea that November. The troops were outnumbered and supplies were running low, Terry said.
"Roger wrote a letter to his grandmother around Thanksgiving (1950)," he said. "He told her what they had for dinner, and then he told her they were running out of ammunition."
It was the last time the family heard from Denny.
On Nov. 28, 1950, he was listed as "missing in action."
Denny's family received a telegram telling them he was missing. There wasn't much to the telegram, Terry said.
It was difficult not knowing what happened to Denny, he said.
The family hoped he'd been taken prisoner, and they prayed that he would come back home.
When the Korean War ended in July 1953, the family hoped Denny would be one of the prisoners of war released by the North Koreans. If he had been taken prisoner, he would be released with the others.
But Denny still didn't come home.
In July 1953, the Army declared him dead.
In the mid-1950s, Terry was told about a book that told how his brother died.
"The River and the Gauntlet," tells the story about the battle in Chongchon River Valley. Terry was surprised to read his brother's name and learn about what happened to his brother.
Denny was blinded by a grenade and was later killed by a bullet to the heart, the book said.
At last the family knew what had happened.
It still didn't make it any easier for them, Terry said.
They remembered him at holidays and family gatherings, Terry's wife, June, said. The family often talked about him, she said. He was gone, but never forgotten.
In 2000, the remains of several soldiers killed in North Korea were brought to Hawaii. In 2007, Terry was asked to provide a DNA sample to help possibly identify one of the bodies brought back.
Terry didn't really have any hope that his brother would be identified. It had been too long since the war. He wanted to hope his brother's remains would be found, but he didn't want to be disappointed if they weren't. In January, however, he was notified that his brother's remains had been identified.
It was an emotional moment, he said.
"It knocked the legs right out from under me," Terry said.
The army provided him with pictures of "Hill 29," where Denny's remains were found. Terey was also given pictures of his brother's skeleton. From the Army's report, he learned that his brother's body had been in a foxhole with two other soldiers.
It was tough to see the pictures, he said. Difficult to think of his brother being thrown into a foxhole and left behind with no burial and no identification.
There were no personal possessions of his brother's found in the foxhole.
"All they found were some empty cartridge cases and buttons," he said.
But at least they found his brother.
On Saturday, Denny's remains will be laid to rest in Hillcrest Cemetery in Albany. Their grandparents, Dawsey and Sara Armstrong, are buried there, and Denny will be buried next to them. The family put up a headstone for Denny several years ago.
Burying his brother will help bring some closure to Denny's family. But it won't completely alleviate the feelings of losing a brother at such a young age.
"He really didn't get to have a life," Terry said.
bgray@ themonroetimes.com
DURAND, Ill. - After almost 60 years, Cpl. Roger Denny is finally home.
Denny was killed in November 1950 while fighting the Chinese in North Korea.
His funeral is at 11 a.m. Saturday at McCorkle Funeral Home, 101 Main St., Durand, Ill. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Cemetery, Albany.
Denny was listed as "missing In action," until just a few months ago, when the Army was able to identify his body through DNA tests conducted with his brother, Terry, who lives in Durand, Ill., and his sister, Mary, who lives in Knoxville, Tenn.
Roger Denny was 17-years-old when he enlisted in the United States Army in 1949, Terry, 81, said. The family lived in Illinois, but they had relatives in Green County.
Terry remembered his brother as "a good kid."
"People liked him. Kids liked him. I always thought that if kids liked you, you must be OK," he said.
Roger was out of school and looking for a job before he enlisted in the Army. Jobs were scarce, Terry said. Terry had been discharged from the service a short time earlier, and he suggested his younger brother enlist in the Army. They pay you, feed you and give you a place to live, he told his younger brother.
Terry had no way of knowing at the time he encouraged Roger to enlist that within a few months North Korea would invade South Korea. He didn't know the United States would once again be involved in a war. He regrets his advice, Terry said.
"World War II was over," he said. "I didn't think we'd have another war. I felt bad about it. I still do."
After the North Koreans invaded South Korea in June 1950, Denny was sent to Korea.
Denny turned 18, Nov. 12, 1950, fighting in North Korea. By the time of his birthday, the Army, along with other troops from the United Nations, had pushed the North Koreans almost to the Chinese border. It appeared the war would soon be over. Things changed when Communist China sent hundreds of thousands of troops over the boarder to support the North Koreans.
Denny and his fellow soldiers were fighting for their lives in the Chongchon River Valley, in northwestern North Korea that November. The troops were outnumbered and supplies were running low, Terry said.
"Roger wrote a letter to his grandmother around Thanksgiving (1950)," he said. "He told her what they had for dinner, and then he told her they were running out of ammunition."
It was the last time the family heard from Denny.
On Nov. 28, 1950, he was listed as "missing in action."
Denny's family received a telegram telling them he was missing. There wasn't much to the telegram, Terry said.
It was difficult not knowing what happened to Denny, he said.
The family hoped he'd been taken prisoner, and they prayed that he would come back home.
When the Korean War ended in July 1953, the family hoped Denny would be one of the prisoners of war released by the North Koreans. If he had been taken prisoner, he would be released with the others.
But Denny still didn't come home.
In July 1953, the Army declared him dead.
In the mid-1950s, Terry was told about a book that told how his brother died.
"The River and the Gauntlet," tells the story about the battle in Chongchon River Valley. Terry was surprised to read his brother's name and learn about what happened to his brother.
Denny was blinded by a grenade and was later killed by a bullet to the heart, the book said.
At last the family knew what had happened.
It still didn't make it any easier for them, Terry said.
They remembered him at holidays and family gatherings, Terry's wife, June, said. The family often talked about him, she said. He was gone, but never forgotten.
In 2000, the remains of several soldiers killed in North Korea were brought to Hawaii. In 2007, Terry was asked to provide a DNA sample to help possibly identify one of the bodies brought back.
Terry didn't really have any hope that his brother would be identified. It had been too long since the war. He wanted to hope his brother's remains would be found, but he didn't want to be disappointed if they weren't. In January, however, he was notified that his brother's remains had been identified.
It was an emotional moment, he said.
"It knocked the legs right out from under me," Terry said.
The army provided him with pictures of "Hill 29," where Denny's remains were found. Terey was also given pictures of his brother's skeleton. From the Army's report, he learned that his brother's body had been in a foxhole with two other soldiers.
It was tough to see the pictures, he said. Difficult to think of his brother being thrown into a foxhole and left behind with no burial and no identification.
There were no personal possessions of his brother's found in the foxhole.
"All they found were some empty cartridge cases and buttons," he said.
But at least they found his brother.
On Saturday, Denny's remains will be laid to rest in Hillcrest Cemetery in Albany. Their grandparents, Dawsey and Sara Armstrong, are buried there, and Denny will be buried next to them. The family put up a headstone for Denny several years ago.
Burying his brother will help bring some closure to Denny's family. But it won't completely alleviate the feelings of losing a brother at such a young age.
"He really didn't get to have a life," Terry said.