The long journey home of Sgt. Howard Belden

HAGUE | The Battle of Chosin Reservoir has been called the bloodiest, most brutal battle of the Korean War. It marked a crucial turning point in the war, forcing UN forces to withdraw southward after being vastly outnumbered by 100,000 communist Chinese troops who had launched a late-night surprise attack. It lasted 17 days, Nov. 27 to Dec. 13, 1950. Though accounts vary, when that battle was over, somewhere between 1,000 and 2,500 Americans and UN forces lay dead, among them Sgt. Howard Richard Belden, age 19. Dan Belden is 84. He is a former―and beloved―Town of Hague supervisor. He is also one of Howard's younger brothers. There was a six-year difference in age between them, and like many younger brothers, Dan idolized his big brother. He followed him everywhere he went and says they were inseparable. Dan recalls Howard as a loving, caring brother, who despite going to school and taking care of the chores the small family farm demanded, somehow also managed to cook three meals a day for the large Belden family. With 12 children, that meant 14 mouths to feed every day. He says Howard had a protective, almost fatherly relationship with Dan and his younger sister, Barb, who was just about 2 when Howard left. After being stationed in Japan, Howard would regularly send notes home. Dan also remembers the special gifts he sent to Barb, particularly two precious dolls, lost long ago. Dan describes the day Howard left. "I cried and cried. I knew I'd never see him again." Perhaps Howard was patriotic; World War II was still fresh on everyone's mind. Maybe he just had a young man's itch to see the world, to "get off the mountain," as folks in Hague used to say. It's been 71 years. Memories have faded, friends and family have passed away. No one can say with certainty why Howard decided to join the Army. But he was young—just 17—when he enlisted, in June 1948. (On July 20, 1950, President Truman activated a peacetime draft, whereby all men between the ages of 18.5 and 35 were called to serve two years of active duty.) By June that year, Howard was stationed in Hawaii: Headquarters Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. On Dec. 1, 1950, the Army listed Howard as "unaccounted." His parents, James and Esther Belden, received the Western Union Telegram telling them that their son was missing in action, presumed dead, weeks later on Jan. 15, 1951. Asked what he remembers about that time, Dan says simply, "We never spoke of that day." It wouldn't be until Oct. 14, 2021―71 years later―that Howard's remains would be identified, one result of the June 2018 summit between then-President Donald Trump and Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. North Korea released 55 boxes containing the remains of soldiers who had fallen in the Korean War. On August 1, 2018, the plane carrying those boxes touched down at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. From there, they were taken to DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) Laboratory to begin the arduous process of identification. Time and a dearth of circumstantial evidence made the process especially difficult, but using dental charts, what little circumstantial evidence they did have, and mitochondrial DNA, anthropological, autosomal, and isotope analyses, the lab ultimately identified 112 individuals. On Oct. 14 Sgt. Belden was reclassified "accounted for," and Arnold Belden, another younger brother, received word from the Army that Howard's remains had been identified. Dan and Arnold remember what they said when they received the news: "Thank God he's home." Howard Belden was born Feb. 19, 1931, in Hague, New York. Sergeant Belden died Dec. 1, 1950, in North Korea. He returned home Aug. 1, 2018. Sergeant Belden will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors sometime in the spring of 2022. His remaining siblings will all be there, along with their children and grandchildren, who speak of "Uncle Howard" as if they knew him first-hand. Great-nephew Air Force Technical Sergeant David Wimson, active-duty U.S. Air Force, will escort his uncle's remains on the last leg of his journey home. At last.

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The long journey home of Sgt. Howard Belden

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