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Trump-Kim summit raises hopes for Michigan families of Korean War MIAs

Posted at 5:36 PM, Jun 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-12 17:36:07-04

At the summit in Singapore, President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un agreed to recover and return missing military remains from the Korean War.

That could mean closure to more than 300 Michigan families.

Debbie McClain is the President of Prisoner of War Committee of Michigan.

“Just because they are gone, they are not forgotten,” she said.

The organization helps families looking for the remains of their loved ones who were POW’s or went missing in action. 

“Just the fact that they are home and you can bury them, it gives closure to the family.”

That could finally happen for families of the 346 missing servicemen from Michigan.

At the summit in Singapore, President Trump and Kim Jong-Un agreed to return remains from the War.

“They said they are going to repatriate the remains they’ve already identified and they will allow us the permission to come in to look for it. Because they have sites and know where to go, it’s just getting the permission to do so.”

That means hundreds of men could finally come home, including Maj. Herbert Andridge, Capt. James Treester, 2nd Lt. Donald Reitsma or Captain Robert Gibb.

Gibb’s aircraft was attacked and crashed.

It was said that he may have survived but was taken as a prisoner of war.

“Everyone of them has a story, every person has a story and if you forget about that person, then their story can no longer be told.”

Debbie’s uncle served in the Korean War, but it wasn’t until the Vietnam War when he went missing.

“He was on what was called an E-1 B, went into the side of a mountain and for 40 years was missing.”

They were able to bury his remains and now she works to give other families that same kind of peace.

“As long as we are bringing them back and we are bringing their names up again and we can tell their stories, people are not going to forget them. That’s our main thing is they are not forgotten and we won’t forget them.”

To learn more about the Prisoner of War Committee of Michigan, go to: http://michiganpowmia.org/