An American hero is laid to rest after more than seven decades

BALDWYN,Miss. (WCBI)- An American hero is laid to rest, more than seven decades after making the ultimate sacrifice for his nation.

Private First Class Jimmy Rowland was killed in July of 1950 during the Korean War, but his remains weren’t positively identified until last year.

After more than seventy years, Private First Class Jimmy Rowland is getting a funeral, with full military honors.

Rowland was 19 years old when he was killed while fighting in the Korean War. His remains went unidentified until last year, when his DNA was matched with one of his sisters, helping to solve a 71 year old mystery.

The soldier’s remains were brought back earlier this week.

Congressman Trent Kelly, who is also a U S Army General, spoke at Rowland’s service and says the sacrifice of soldiers such as PFC Rowland can never be forgotten.

“What’s so special is the family can get closure , they know what happened to their loved one, so to be able to honor them all these years later, lets their family members know , and for soldiers there’s nothing more important than to know this nation has the will and resolve to bring them home,” said Kelly.

J B Williams was ten years old when his uncle Jimmy was listed as missing in the Korean War and says the family never gave up hope that their soldier would be returned home.

Williams says he is glad his uncle is finally getting the honor he’s due.

“If it hadn’t been for people like him, we wouldn’t be free to go to church,to worship and to vote like we do and all this, we wouldn’t exist as we do,” said Williams.

As the service concluded, Williams was presented with medals honoring his uncle Jimmy, including the Purple Heart. Then, Pfc Rowland was taken to his final resting place, in the family plot at the Asbury Cemetery.

There are still 60 just from the state of Mississippi unaccounted for from the Korean War.