HOLLY, Mich. (WXYZ) — After 74 years, the remains of Korean War soldier William Arlo Wheeler have been identified and brought home, allowing his family to finally lay him to rest with full military honors at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly.
"Not everybody answers the call. Not everybody is willing to do a service that goes well beyond ourselves," said a military representative during Tuesday's ceremony.
Wheeler was just 18 years old and had served in the military for less than a year when he was killed in a surprise attack on August 31, 1950. Initially, he was thought to be missing in action (MIA), but the military declared him dead four years later.
His brother, Gary Wheeler, explained that William's body was found three weeks after the attack, but identification was impossible at the time.
"Because people take things, they steal things [from] dead bodies. There were no dog tags; they didn't know who he was," Gary said.
Wheeler was one of 10 children, with only three siblings still alive today. They attended his funeral Tuesday, marking the end of what they described as a "black cloud" that had hung over the family for decades.
"You know when you're a puzzle and when there's a part missing, it's just not complete, and that's how I felt," Karen Sallen, Wheeler's sister, said.
WEB EXTRA: Karen Sallen talks about her brother William Arlo Wheeler
The family spent decades searching for William Wheeler, eventually believing it might be impossible. But in 2024, they received a call from the military confirming his remains had been identified.
For years, Wheeler's remains were at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii, where unidentified soldiers are interred.
"He was identified as 'Unknown X181' to the military," said Gary. "[But], the military never gave up, they never gave up to find out who is this unknown soldier, and they did it for us."
Modern DNA testing finally provided the answers the family had sought for generations.
"It really is beyond words," Karen said.
Though his living siblings have no personal memories of their brother, they remained committed to finding him and bringing him home.
"He was blood…he was blood," Karen said.
————————————————————
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
