Orestus Marion Stewart, a U.S Army Corporal who was killed in battle during the Korean War, was recently welcomed home to Jasper 75 years after his death.
Residents lined the streets last Wednesday for a procession that carried Stewart through Jasper along Highway 190 to Highway 96 and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. A funeral service for Stewart was held Saturday at Springhill Missionary Baptist Church in Magnolia Springs. Interment followed at Springhill Cemetery with full military honors.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Jasper coordinated the welcome-home effort.
Stewart was killed Aug. 11, 1950 at age 20 while serving in South Korea, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. He was a member of the Medical Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, tasked with defending the city of P’ohang-dong and Yonil Airfield from an enemy attack.
Four years later, Army personnel and South Korean citizens recovered Stewart’s body from a shallow grave near Pugni-dong, according to the Accounting Agency. However, his identity could not be confirmed at the time. He was transported to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, where he was interred as an Unknown.
Stewart’s case was opened in November 2022 thanks to the Accounting Agency’s Korean War Disinterment Project. Laboratory findings and other evidence confirmed the remains were Stewart’s, the agency announced last year.
It started the trip home for Stewart, who arrived at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport last Wednesday before the procession to Jasper. According to a social media post from Jasper VFW 3680, other towns along the route showed their respect to Stewart.
“We want to thank everyone that had a part in making today a special day for the return of and welcoming CPL Stewart home,” the VFW post said. “I want to thank Jasper and all the communities that were out lining the streets from Houston to Jasper. I have heard of overpasses in Cleveland, streets in Livingston and Woodville where people were out paying their respects. To all the fire, police and EMS that were out there either escorting CPL Stewart or lining the roads along the route, thank you.”