His remains were among those repatriated from North Korea in July 2018 as part of an effort to recover fallen U.S. service members from the Korean War.
Source: New Mexico National Guard (via Facebook)
by Hank Minitrez, NMNG Public Affairs Director
Photos By Staff Sgt. Cayce Watson, 7th Infantry Division Public Affairs: Courtesy
Gallup, N.M. — Nearly 75 years after he was lost in the Korean War, U.S. Army Sgt. Celestino Chavez Jr. was laid to rest April 15th with full military honors in Gallup, surrounded by family, senior military leaders and state officials honoring his service and sacrifice.
Chavez, a New Mexico native who was listed as missing in action for decades, was finally returned home following years of recovery and identification efforts by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
His remains were among those repatriated from North Korea in July 2018 as part of an effort to recover fallen U.S. service members from the Korean War.
After arriving in New Mexico, Chavez was escorted with dignity and reverence to his final resting place.
During the ceremony, senior leaders from both the New Mexico National Guard and the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services joined Chavez’s family and loved ones for a memorial ceremony recognizing a Soldier whose sacrifice had never been forgotten.
During the ceremony, leaders presented Chavez’s family with the United States flag and the New Mexico flag on behalf of a grateful nation and state, honoring his military service and the legacy of honor he leaves behind.
Chavez enlisted in the U.S. Army on Jan. 10, 1949, and served with Battery D, 15th Anti-Aircraft Artillery, Automatic Weapons Battalion, 7th Infantry Division.
He was wounded during intense fighting at the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea and died on Nov. 29, 1950, at just 19 years old.
For generations, Chavez’s name was inscribed among the missing at the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
With his identification confirmed, he is no longer counted among the missing, but among those brought home.
His military service was recognized with numerous awards, including the Silver Star, Purple Heart and Korean Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars.
The full burial honors rendered served as a final tribute to Chavez’s courage, sacrifice and enduring bond with the state he called home.
After decades of uncertainty, Sgt. Celestino Chavez Jr. has at last returned to New Mexico — not only accounted for, but honored, remembered and laid to rest with the dignity and respect he earned in service to his country.
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