USA Pfc. James C. Konyud (WWII-KIA) coming home 67 years later

September 23, 2010 · By Jerry Castillo

George Konyud holds pictures of his brother

CLEVELAND, Ohio – From mid-September 1944 to early February 1945, the Army was engaged against German forces in the Hürtgen Forest, along the Germany/Belgium border, in the longest continuously fought battle in American history.  In early January 1945, elements of the 121^st Infantry Regiment, 8^th Infantry Division were deployed defensively in the area southeast of Aachen.  Konyud, a member of K Company, 121^st Infantry Regiment, was reported missing near the location on Jan. 1, 1945.

Mark Puente of Clevland.com interviewed his brother. The last memory George Konyud has of his older brother is when he boarded a train in Cleveland, headed off to fight in World War II.

George Konyud didn’t remember many details about his older brother because of their age difference.

He recalled seeing his brother at the dinner table every night. He thought often of the last memory etched in his mind in 1943. He waved goodbye as he boarded a train to serve the United States.

“That was the last time I saw him,” Konyud said, crying.

His brother never came home on leave. George Konyud received an Army telegram in 1945 about him being missing in action. The Army declared him dead in 1946.

As the remaining brothers and sisters aged, they grew apart. They didn’t talk much about their family’s sacrifice. Konyud cannot locate his nieces and nephews because they don’t live in the area. He expects to be the only mourner at the funeral.

“This country is the only one who would do this,” he said. “I am grateful to the Army.”

The 85-year-old Willowick man will salute his brother Friday when his remains are brought to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

George Konyud, the youngest of seven siblings and the last one still living, never expected to learn the fate of the soldier.

“I didn’t believe in miracles,” George Konyud said, fighting back tears. “I believe in this. Never in a million years did I think this would happen.”

George Konyud shows the ID tags of his brother found by JPAC

In 2007, a German explosive team found human remains and military equipment in a field between Vossenack and Huertgen. The remains included two of Konyud’s identification tags, the Department of Defense said.

A U.S. Army recovery team excavated the site twice in 2007 and once in 2008. Scientists matched DNA from the human remains to DNA from George Konyud and his daughter.

George Konyud, who lost his leg in a train accident in 1940, learned a few months ago that his brother would be coming home. The day was emotional, he said.

“I was shocked,” Konyud said, choking up. “It’s been so long. I’m flabbergasted.”

More than 400,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II died.  At the end of the war, the U.S. government was unable to recover, identify and bury approximately 79,000 as known persons.  Today, more than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the conflict.

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