Public Wake To Be Held For Brighton Army Officer Who Went Missing In Korean War
BOSTON (CBS/AP) -- An Army officer from Brighton who was reported missing in action during the Korean War will be remembered at a public wake on Thursday, after his remains were identified and returned home.
1st Lt. Thomas J. Redgate, a member of Battery A, 48th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division, was reported missing Dec. 11, 1950, when his unit was attacked during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, according to the Army.
The wake will be held at the Lehman Reen McNamara Funeral Home in Brighton from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. A funeral Mass will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola Chestnut Hill, followed by a burial at the National Cemetery in Bourne.
The exact details surrounding his loss were not known, and his remains could not be recovered at the time. He was 24.
In July 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea turned over 55 boxes that purportedly contained the remains of American service members killed during the war.
The remains were examined at the DPAA's laboratory in Hawaii, and based on anthropological analysis, as well as DNA and circumstantial evidence, one set was determined to be Redgate's.
Redgate, whose hometown was listed as Brighton, was accounted for in April 2020, but the announcement was made Wednesday because his family only recently received a full briefing of his identification, the Army said.
Redgate's name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Back in November, the city of Boston dedicated the intersection of Mapleton and Market streets in Brighton in Redgate's honor.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
