PHELPS — The remains of a teenage New York soldier killed in the Korean War more than 60 years ago have been identified and are being returned to his upstate hometown.
Relatives of Army Cpl. George W. Conklin Jr. say a casket with his remains is scheduled to arrive aboard a flight from Hawaii to the Rochester airport Wednesday evening. A military honor guard will load the casket into a hearse that will take his remains to the Ontario County town of Phelps, 30 miles southeast of Rochester.
The 18-year-old Conklin was wounded in the fighting around North Korea’s Chosin Reservoir in December 1950. He was reported as missing in action and declared killed in action in 1953.
His remains were found in a mass grave in 2004 and identified last September through a brother’s DNA.