APOLLO, Pa. — The relatives of a western Pennsylvania soldier who was wounded and taken captive during the Korean War will bury his remains at Arlington National Cemetery now that government scientists have identified them.

Army Sgt. Joseph Snock Jr. of Apollo was last seen alive by his twin brother, John, as both men were wounded in North Korea in late November or early December of 1950.

The dead man's brother, Sgt. John Snock, was also wounded but left to get first aid supplies for his more seriously wounded brother. By the time John Snock returned, Chinese soldiers had taken his brother prisoner.

"He was the last person to see him. It haunted him," Linda Finlay, the Snock brothers' niece, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Referring to her uncle John, she said, "I think it would have been easier for him to know just where it ended for his brother. It affected him his whole life."

John Snock, who died in 2007, told the story of his brother's capture to the (Tarentum) Valley News Dispatch in 1993, the 40th anniversary of the Korean War's end.

The twins were 21 and huddled near the bottom of a snowy hill when their colonel gave the order to attack Chinese soldiers.

John Snock said he stayed put while his brother charged up the hill.

"I told Joe, 'They'll blow your brains out if you leave the side of the hill,' " John Snock said in 1993. About 20 minutes later, some other soldiers brought his brother back, badly wounded.

"They dropped him down and he was all shot up," John Snock said. "I went to get a first aid pack. When I came back he was gone. I never saw him again."

Snock told the newspaper the incident happened on Dec. 3, 1950. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, which identified Joseph Snock's remains, puts the date at Nov. 29, 1950, based on accounts of other American prisoners who were later returned to the United States.

Joseph Snock's parents were notified four years after his death that he died about a month after he was taken prisoner, from malnutrition and frozen extremities.

His twin brother's DNA, collected years ago, was used to identify Joseph Snock's remains so they could be returned to his family.

The family plans to bury him Monday.

"We're very pleased this is happening after all these years," Finlay said.

Share:
In Other News
Load More