Funeral for Korean War POW missing 63 years set for Saturday

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Clara Gantt, the 94-year-old widow of U.S. Army Sgt. Joseph Gantt, weeps in front of her husband’s casket at Los Angeles International Airport. (Andrew Renneisen / For The Times)

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The casket of U.S. Army Sgt. Joseph Gantt is prepared to be removed from the plane. (Andrew Renneisen / For The Times)

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Members of the U.S. honor guard carry the casket of U.S. Army Sgt. Joseph Gantt to a hearse. (Andrew Renneisen / For the Los Angeles Times)

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Clara Gantt, the 94-year-old widow of U.S. Army Sgt. Joseph Gantt, gets emotional while talking to members of the media about her husband, before making her way to meet the casket. (Andrew Renneisen / For The Times)

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The casket of U.S. Army Sgt. Joseph Gantt sits on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport after being lowered from the plane. (Andrew Renneisen / For The Times)

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The casket of U.S. Army Sgt. Joseph Gantt inside a hearse. (Andrew Renneisen / For The Times)

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Clara Gantt keeps a photo of her husband hanging in her bedroom. He was missing for 63 years. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Clara Gantt stands in the Inglewood house she’s lived in since the 1960s. She knew Joseph Gantt disliked yardwork, so after she bought the home, she hired a gardener. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Until her husband’s remains were identified and returned from North Korea, Clara Gantt never gave up hope he would someday return. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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Clara Gantt stands in front of a display of her husband’s things, reflected by a glass case that holds an American flag and his photo. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

By Matt Stevens and Samantha Schaefer

Dec. 27, 2013 11:23 AM PT

Army Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Gantt, whose remains were returned to his widow 63 years after he went missing during the Korean War, will be laid to rest Saturday in Inglewood.

An Army honor guard will escort Joseph’s widow, Clara Gantt, 94, into the Dwelling Place Foursquare Church around 11 a.m. for an hourlong private service, according to a news release from the USO Greater Los Angeles Area.

Mourners will then move to Inglewood Park Cemetery for a public graveside service that will feature a gun salute and full military honors. The service is scheduled to begin around 1 p.m. and last about 30 minutes.

Last week, Clara Gantt cried as her husband’s flag-draped casket arrived home on a Los Angeles International Airport tarmac.

Joseph Gantt joined the Army in 1942 and served in the South Pacific during World War II. Clara met him in 1946 and they married two years later.

They lived in Fort Lewis, Wash., until he left for the Korean War, assigned as a field medic.

In December 1950, Clara Gantt received a letter from her husband and $100 for Christmas. That month, he was taken prisoner while defending his unit’s position near Kunu-ri’, North Korea. He died in captivity in March 1951, officials later discovered.

Over the years, Clara attended dozens of meetings in Washington, D.C., meant to update the wives and family members of missing servicemen. Some 84,000 service members, including 8,000 from the Korean War, are still missing.

When Clara got a call asking if she would be in Washington for the October meeting this year, she knew what was coming. She flew there, alone, and was told her husband’s remains had been found.

“I am very, very proud of him. He was a wonderful husband, an understanding man,” she told reporters at the airport last week. “I always did love my husband, we was two of one kind, we loved each other. And that made our marriage complete.”

Veterans, particularly of the Korean War, are encouraged to attend the graveside service. Condolences and donations in support of funeral service expenses may be directed to Mrs. Clara Gantt, c/o USO Greater L.A., 203 World Way, No. 200, Los Angeles, 90045. Expressions of sympathy may also be sent via email.

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matt.stevens@latimes.com

samantha.schaefer@latimes.com