Flags across Arkansas will fly at half-staff on Tuesday, from sunrise to sunset, to honor the life of Army Sergeant Charles Beaty of Lake City, who gave his life during the Korean War.
At just 26 years old, Sgt. Beaty was already a highly decorated soldier. Having served in World War II, he was sent to Korea when the war broke out in 1950. On December 3 of that year, he lost his life at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir while fighting against Chinese forces.
On Friday, November 15, 2024, after 74 years, Beaty’s remains were finally returned to his family. His nephew, Trent Fletcher, was among those who received the news.
“The battle itself where he was at in North Korea was just frigid, unbelievable harsh conditions. From what I understand the ones that were killed in the battle, the ones that remained couldn’t bring them back or they would have been captured or killed,” Fletcher said.
Beaty’s second cousin, Tammie Davis, shared that only a few of his relatives remain who have memories of him.
“It’s something that never in my lifetime thought would ever happen,” Davis said. “Our hope was obviously that they would have found his remains when my mother was living, and my grandmother and his mother were living.”
The U.S. military has been unable to search for remains in North Korea since 2005, but in 2018, North Korea returned the remains of 55 U.S. servicemen. In April 2024, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified Beaty among those remains, and on Friday, they were flown from Hawaii to Little Rock.
“It’s just amazing after 74 years that the Army never gave up,” Fletcher said.
The DPAA reports that over 7,000 service members from the Korean War remain unaccounted for, with around 5,300 of them believed to still be in North Korea.
Fletcher encouraged others with missing loved ones to hold on to hope: “For those out there who still have loved ones that haven’t been brought back don’t give up.”
Sgt. Beaty’s distinguished service earned him numerous medals, including the Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with one bronze service star, Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Presidential Unit Citation (Navy), Honorable Service Lapel Button WWII, United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Korea-Korean War Service Medal and the Korea Presidential Unit Citation.
He will be laid to rest with full military honors at Lake City Cemetery near Jonesboro on Tuesday at 1 p.m. Davis hopes the ceremony will be attended by a strong showing of military personnel.
“Everyone needs to keep searching,” Davis concluded. “There’s hope. There’s hope out there this proves it.”
A link to Sgt. Beaty’s DPAA profile can be found by clicking here.
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