Members of the U.S. Army Honor Guard await the arrival of the American Airlines flight transporting the body of Pfc. William Junior Winchester, one of the last Buffalo Soldiers to enter combat. After 70 years, the family of Pfc. Winchester brought him home to rest, a journey to closure that thousands of families still seek in the United States.
Private First Class Winchester was just 20-years-old when he was captured by Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) in November 1950 during combat operations near Unsan, People’s Republic of Korea. In February of 1951, Pfc. Winchester died of malnutrition at POW Camp #5 in Pyoktong, D.P.R.K.
His remains were returned to the United Nations during 1954 as part of Operation Glory but records were found to be unreliable and his identity could not be confirmed. Winchester was buried as unknown soldier X-13442 in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. It would take 70 years, scientific milestones and in-depth historical analysis before Pfc. William Winchester could be identified and finally return home to his family in Lima, Ohio.
William was raised in Lawrence County, Alabama, a true sports fan, “anything with a ball, he loved it,” grandson James said. As a teenager, William would play guitar in church. As a teenager, he and his cousin made a pact, they were going to join the Army to escape Jim Crow and the sharecropping in Alabama. William went, his cousin stayed behind. He left behind his newlywed wife and unborn child.
In an effort to escape the segregated South, William found himself in a segregated military. He was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. The 24th Infantry Regiment is known historically as the Buffalo Soldiers. The legacy has followed him home. As one of the last Buffalo Soldier regiments to enter combat, his service marked the end of American military segregation.
James Winchester, center, watches as the plane carrying his grandfather taxis up the runway at John Glenn International Airport in Columbus, Ohio.
James Winchester’s journey began in 2001. He never met his grandfather and by the time he began asking questions about his life, his grandmother had suffered a stroke and was unable to share stories. She passed away when James was 14. James’ father also never had the opportunity to meet William, his father, and James knows just how much that bothered his father up until the day he died.
In 2009, James and his father provided the U.S. Army with DNA samples in hopes that it would lead to the recovery of William’s remains. James’ father died shortly there after in 2011 having never had the chance to bring his father home.
It would be nearly a decade before the Winchesters would hear the good news. “It gets frustrating waiting for the military to find him,” James said. “I was almost losing hope.”
A portrait of William Junior Winchester, placed on a chain resembling dog tags, hangs from the neck of his grandson, James Winchester.
To add to the bittersweet reality of it all, the Winchesters were notified that William had in fact been stateside for over 50 years.
“We thought all this time his remains had been in Korea,” James said. His remains had been in Hawaii since 1954, buried as an unknown soldier in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
As the cargo bay doors opened and a soldier in Army fatigues stepped into the hold, the emotion that had been building in James for years came spilling out as tears streamed down his face — his grandfather was finally home.
James Winchester cries as he places his hands on the flag-covered coffin of his grandfather, Pfc. William Winchester.
“Sometimes seeing is really believing,” James said.
After all of these years waiting and hoping, a sense of peace washed over James. It really was happening. William was finally home.
After nearly 70 years known only as X-13442, Pfc. William Junior Winchester is brought home with his name and full honors.
The remains of Pfc. William Winchester sit draped in an American flag at the Jones-Clark Funeral Home in Lima, Ohio, on the day of his funeral.
James Winchester cries as he watches onlookers react to the procession for his fallen grandfather while passing through downtown Lima, Ohio.
James Winchester is presented with the American flag that was draped over his grandfather’s coffin.
“On behalf of the President of the United States, the United States Army, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service.”
Veterans and soldiers salute as Taps is played during the funeral for Pfc. William Winchester at Memorial Park Cemetery in Lima, Ohio.