After 65 Years, Remains Of Korean War POW Brought Home To Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO INT'L AIRPORT (KPIX 5) – More than six decades after he was killed as a prisoner of war in Korea, the remains of Army Cpl. Robert Perry Graham finally returned home.

With a classic Bay Area sunset as a backdrop, Graham's coffin draped in the Stars and Stripes arrived at San Francisco International Airport Wednesday night.

"It's a day that I always hoped for and my father, who passed away, always hoped for," Nicole Venturelli, Graham's niece, told KPIX 5. "And I just can't believe it's finally here."

Bobby, as his family called him, became a prisoner of war during what's called the "Gettysburg of the Korean War" on February 13, 1951.

Venturelli never knew her uncle, but knew her father kept a box full of the letters he wrote during the Korean War.

"When Bobby went off to Korea in the beginning of the war in 1950, my father didn't see him again," Venturelli said. "Described the secret missions and where he was in Korea and not to worry about him."

In 1993, 31 boxes of comingled remains were handed over to the United States.

"There was more than just one body in those boxes," said Ret. Master Gunnery Sgt. James George, Graham's nephew.

Ten years ago, George submitted his DNA. Graham was identified by a single tibia in November.

"Being able to bring him home and to have closure for our family is very emotional and is something my aunts and uncles and mother had always dreamed about," George said.

Sixty-five years later on a noisy tarmac, honored by the salutes of firefighters and police officers, Robert Perry Graham finally returned to his family.

"For my mother, for my uncle, for our family - I can't be more happy than that," George said.

Graham will be buried on Friday with full military honors, near his brother.