Soldier killed in Korean War finally laid to rest

By Meredith Jorgensen

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    ANNVILLE, Pennsylvania (WGAL) — Donald Born was 19 when he left Lancaster County to fight in the Korean War.

The private first class in the U.S. Army was listed as MIA in 1950. His family didn’t know what happened until his sister gave her DNA to help find his remains.

Now the soldier’s body is back in the Susquehanna Valley and has finally been laid to rest.

“I just remember my mother saying she sent her DNA in 1999. And she had said to me, ‘Would you send your DNA?’ and that was in 2001,” said Deborah Seiz, Born’s niece.

Born’s family worked for a long time to get him home but not as long as he’d been away.

His remains were positively identified in June.

The Army on Tuesday presented his family with nine medals of service – including the Purple Heart – 72 years after he gave his life.

A procession took the veteran’s remains from Lancaster County to the Indiantown Gap National Cemetery for a burial with full military honors.

“As the POW-MIA flag says, you are not forgotten. We will never stop looking. We’ll never stop trying, and when we do find you, we will identify you and you will be brought home where you belong,” said Randy Plummer, an administrative officer at the cemetery.

Born was buried in three different countries on two continents, but his family said Pennsylvania is exactly where he was should be.

“I understand this is his fourth resting place, but now it’s his final resting place. He’s home where he belongs with his fellow veterans,” Plummer said.

“I was glad we could do it for my mother. And my husband and I come up here quite a bit and we walk around. It’ll just be very nice to be able to go and see where he is and pay our respects to him,” Seiz said.

“Closure. We finally know where he is. He’s accounted for, and he can finally just rest in peace. No more journeys for him,” said Amber Hogan, Born’s great-niece.

Born is the seventh repatriated veteran buried at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery.

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