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Korean War POW Finally Buried After 60 Years

Artie Hodapp died of starvation in or near a POW camp in 1951

By the Associated Press

Posted May 27, 2011 8:50 AM CDT

(AP) – For 60 years, Artie Hodapp's family agonized over a heart-rending mystery: Where had the young man, known for his rollicking sense of humor, come to rest after dying in the Korean War? The answer was among 17 boxes of remains that the North Koreans turned over nearly two decades ago. More than half a century after he died in Korea, Hodapp's bones are returned after being matched with relatives' DNA. Hodapp's long journey home came to an end this week at a Catholic cemetery in northern Illinois, where he was buried with full military honors beneath a grave marker his sister bought despite not knowing where he was. That sister is now 88, and one of few family members who lived to learn Hodapp’s fate.

Through a review of Army reports and the memories of a fellow POW tracked down in New Jersey, the AP was able to reconstruct the conditions under which the Arthur Leon Aloysius Hodapp starved to death in or near a prisoner of war camp. Dysentery, beri beri and other diseases ravaged the men. What little food they did get was sorghum that cooked into paste; some just let themselves die. Many soldiers would smoke marijuana to help get food down, but Hodapp was not one of those. The drug grew wild near the camps and many prisoners smoked it, historians say. "We weren't raised that way, and he would have just thought, that's not right," his sister said.

A Korean War veteran stands and salutes the casket of Artie Hodapp, as Hodapp's sister Frances Meyers, 88, left, walks past during funeral services in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

Members of Illinois' Army Color Guard fold the flag that covered Artie Hodapp's casket during funeral services in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

Artie Hodapp's portrait is displayed during funeral services in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

Frances Meyers, 88, left, speaks with Korean War veterans during her brother Artie Hodapp's funeral services in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

Robert Hodapp holds the flag that covered his brother Artie Hodapp's casket during funeral services in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

The flag covered casket of Artie Hodapp is carried by Korean War veterans during funeral services in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

Frances Meyers, 88, holds a portrait of her brother Artie Hodapp during funeral services in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

Clyde Fruth, founder and commander of Freeport's chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association salutes the casket of Artie Hodapp during funeral services in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

The flag covered casket of Artie Hodapp is carried down the center of St. Joseph Catholic Church during funeral services in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

Photos and news articles are displayed in the church during funeral services for Artie Hodapp in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

The flag covered casket of Artie Hodapp is carried down the center of St. Joseph Catholic Church during funeral services in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

The flag covered casket of Artie Hodapp is carried by Korean War veterans during funeral services in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

The flag covered casket of Artie Hodapp is carried by Korean War veterans at the St. Joseph's cemetery during funeral services in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

Frances Meyers, 88, receives the flag that covered her brother Artie Hodapp's casket from Korean War veteran Dwight Allmon, right, during funeral services in Freeport, Ill., Wednesday, May 25, 2011. (Seth Perlman)

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Korean War POW Finally Buried After 60 Years

Artie Hodapp died of starvation in or near a POW camp in 1951

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