YORK COUNTY, Pa. - Sixty-nine years later, a York County family is finally getting the closure they've been waiting for. Cpl. Earl Markle was killed in action during the Korean War, and his body never recovered.
"My biggest dreams, I never thought, ever, that this would happen," said Robert Wolff, Cpl. Earl Markle's nephew.
Cpl. Markle's picture sits on the kitchen table of his niece Cindy Madoushek's house. Her and Wolf never met their uncle, but have kept his memory alive.
"He's my family, and he's my hero, he sacrificed for my country," said Madoushek. "And I never forgot him, even though I didn't know him. I wish I could have."
In 1950, about two years after joining the army, Cpl. Markle was reported missing in action after his unit was attack by enemy forces in North Korea during the Korean War. Three years later, the U.S. Army declared Cpl. Markle dead, although his remains could not be recovered. Then, in 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes of remains of American service members killed during the war, following a summit between President Trump, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Box 15 contained Cpl. Markle's remains.
"I know people a lot of times are down on Trump about certain things, and I'm not saying I agree with everything he says or does," said Wolff. "I don't mean to get too political, but the fact that he got this done, I'm so grateful."
Cpl. Markle will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in November.
