After 73 years, a hero's welcome: Taunton community honors PFC Joseph Travers' return
Daniel Schemer
- The remains of U.S. Army Private First Class Joseph Raymond Travers, a POW/MIA from the Korean War, were returned to Massachusetts after being identified 73 years after his disappearance.
- Travers went missing in action in April 1951 near Seoul, South Korea, and was later confirmed to have died in a North Korean POW camp in December 1951.
- Travers' return to Taunton drew crowds of residents, veterans, and their families, who lined the streets to honor the fallen soldier.
TAUNTON – From parts of Broadway to Washington Street, and all the way to O’Keefe-Wade Funeral Home, crowds gathered along the road to give a hero’s welcome to U.S. Army Private First Class Joseph Raymond Travers.
“He’s finally able to be laid to rest. I’m a bag of emotions right now,” said Ally Rodriguez, director of veterans services for City of Taunton, adding it means so much to veterans and their families to see people caring and taking the time to line the streets.
Travers, a POW/MIA from the Korean War, was declared missing in action in April 1951. It took 73 years to identify his remains and declare him accounted for by the federal government.
“I’m doing this to celebrate him coming home. He hasn’t been home in a long time,” said Connor Monteiro, part of Troop 40 in Taunton with the Boy Scouts of America, standing with his fellow scouts at the intersection of Washington and Broadway, waiting for the procession to arrive.
Theresa Perry, also standing along Washington Street, said that her 95-year-old husband knew PFC Travers, but he couldn’t bring himself to come and stand with others for the procession.
“He was too emotional,” said Linda Wade, his daughter, standing with her mother. She explained that he was mentally distraught over the fact that Travers, at just 24 years old, had passed away so young, while he himself had lived a full life.
Giving the ultimate sacrifice
In early 1951, Travers was a member of Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
On April 22, 1951 his unit engaged enemy forces near the village of Undam-Jang, near Seoul, South Korea.
According to the DPAA, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) begun a large-scale effort to penetrate the valley areas east of Seoul. As part of Operation Dauntless, 1st and 2nd Battalions launched an attack against CCF forces in the Chorwon Valley to the north. The CCF were eventually pushed out of the area, but soon regrouped and returned with a new attack.
POWs returning home in 1953 confirmed that Travers died in December 1951 in a POW Camp in North Korea. He was 24.
Michelle Hamilton, the veterans agent for Foxborough and a founding member of Rolling Thunder, Massachusetts Chapter 2—an organization dedicated to advocating for POW/MIA soldiers—was present for Travers’ homecoming.
When asked about this event’s significance, she said “If you ever met the family of an MIA veteran, you wouldn’t be asking that question.” She continued, “What it means to get that closure, it’s substantial. I have met many families of POW and MIA veterans. It’s a generational loss.”
A long time coming
In 1954, remains from Changsong POW Camp were turned over to the United Nations. Many remains were designated as unknown and buried at the National Memorial Cemetery to the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu Hawaii.
In summer 2018, the DPAA had the remains of hundreds of Korean War Unknowns exhumed with the goal of identification.
To identify Travers’ remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as chest radiograph comparison. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.
Travers was officially identified on June 20, 2024.
Mayor Shaunna O’ Connell was in attendance for the return of PFC Travers and said Taunton is a city that loves its veterans. “Taunton is a city that truly believes in bringing them all home no matter how long it takes. To see this POW war hero brought home is incredibly meaningful to our entire community.”
Robert Travers, nephew to PFC Travers, said he was caught off guard by the amount of support and people who showed up for this procession. “Thank you to everyone for this outpouring.”
Being laid to rest
Funeral services and interment for PFC Joseph Raymond Travers will take place on Saturday, March 29, at O'Keefe-Wade Funeral Home on Washington St. in Taunton.