Gustafson -Henry
HENRY GUSTAFSON - POW - Korean Conflict
Source: Crawfordsville Journal Review 19-Oct-2011 2A
Henry Leo Gustafson was nicknamed "Juney" early in his young life. He was born Feb. 4, 1932, at Decatur, Ill. His parents were Pearl Mae Inman and Henry Leo Martin. He had one brother named Paul who was born in 1935. His mother divorced in 1940 and moved the remaining family members to west central Indiana. There he was under the guidance of his grandparents, Cash and Josie (Houston) Inman of Kingman. Times were tough for young Juney but, he was surrounded by his brother Paul, his Uncle Merle Inman and his cousin Tommy Guard. During the 40’s his mother remarried to a Carl Gustafson and they resided in Illinois and Michigan. He enlisted in the Army for three years in Fort Custer, Mich., during April 1949. He then separated with an honorable discharge from his three-year commitment in April 1950 and then re-enlisted for six years. He was fighting the enemy near the Chosin Reservoir in early December 1950. During withdraw to a more defensible position near Hagaru, North Korea, he fell prisoner. Private Gustafson was reported missing on Dec. 6, 1950. Forty-three years later the Democratic People’s Republic of (North) Korea, DPRK returned the remains of an estimated 400 American servicemen in 208 coffins to the United Nations Command in 1993. The immediate living family members were notified by the JPAC Central Identification Laboratory in Fort Knox, Ky., in June of this year that the Gustafson file had been completed. A funeral service is planned at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Grady Funeral Home at Williamsport. Burial will be at West Lebanon Cemetery. A full military service will be provided. Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. Friday. The family asks people to contact and encourage the U.S. Senator and Congressman to continue to support federal funding for the Joint POW/MIA Command. Online condolences may be made at www.gradyfuneralhome.com.
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