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Lt. Gilbert welcomed back to Steubenville after 75 years

STEUBENVILLE -- First Lt. Raymond Banker Gilbert returned to his hometown Tuesday afternoon, met with a hero’s welcome and greeted by residents from across the Tri-State Area.

It was a homecoming that happened after 75 years.

Gilbert died on Jan. 31, 1951, in a Korean prisoner of war camp after being wounded and captured by enemy forces Dec. 1, 1950, while his unit was withdrawing from Kunu-ri to Sunchon, North Korea, during the Battle of the Ch’ongch’on River. While remains recovered near the Kunu-ri were returned to the United States in 1954 as part of Operation Glory and the exchange of war dead, they could not be identified and were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery in Honolulu.

In 2024, the remains were disinterred and sent to a Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency laboratory for testing, which led to the positive identification of Gilbert. And, on June 4, the identification was officially announced.

One of the final stops in Gilbert’s journey home came Tuesday, when Gilbert’s remains were flown into Pittsburgh International Airport and returned in a flag-draped casket to Vinson Mortuary.

“75 years and being able to come back home -- and the way Steubenville presented itself. Even coming from the airport, from Pennsylvania to West Virginia. There was an overpass where there were veterans on horses saluting when we passed,” said Virgis L. Vinson, director of the funeral home on Fifth Street.

“This is what small towns are all about,” he continued. “Steubenville showed so much love. And we are so happy that the military was able to work through the DNA to bring him back home.”

Vinson and other members of the motorcade said veterans, service men and women and others could be seen along U.S. Route 22, including the overpasses. Many local residents carrying flags lined downtown streets, as the procession passed the city’s two American Legion posts -- David Walker Post 274 and Argonne Post 33.

“This is a special moment to see a fallen hero come home to Steubenville after all of this time,” said Marc Gregory, a veteran who served six years in the Army, while standing near the intersection of North Seventh Street and Franklin Avenue. “I wish the whole city would have come out.”

Gregory noted he has known members of the family and was glad to be a part of the observance.

“May he rest in peace. Welcome home,” he said.

Gilbert, who lived at 410 Grant St. before he answered the call to serve his country, was a 1944 graduate of Steubenville High School who earned a degree in business from West Virginia University. He was the son of the late Joseph and Nanie Flate Gilbert.

Among those paying their respects was Bill Hendricks, an Air Force veteran and president of the city school board.

“I thought it would be appropriate. He paid the ultimate sacrifice. I think the least we can do is welcome him home,” Hendricks said.

Gilbert served with Battery B, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean War.

Terry Channel and Mike Reynard were among the people who had gathered outside Post 33 to wait for the motorcade to pass. Both are veterans, and both agreed they were welcoming a special person back to town.

“We are here to honor a hero, they are bringing him back, and he was a tremendous hero. Everyone should remember that,” said Channel, who served in the Army during the Vietnam War. The return coming just one day before Veterans Day was perfect, he added.

“We’re here to honor a veteran -- a local hero -- so we never forget what went on for us to be free. There are sacrifices to be free, and a lot of people don’t appreciate that,” said Reynard, who served with the Air Force in Thailand from 1969 to 1973.

While Wendy Barr did not serve in the military, she said her grandfather, her father and her husband did, and her son does now.

“We’re here to welcome Lt. Gilbert home,” she said. “It’s something that’s absolutely, absolutely important.”

Holding the American flag as part of the honor guard at the funeral home was Jim Myers, who served in the Army in 1965.

"It's important to honor our veterans, especially the ones who have been killed in action. A lot of them are finally being identified and returned to their families," he said.

The procession was escorted into town by members of local law enforcement, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, area first responders and public officials. Leading the way were members of the Patriot Guard Riders.

“We stand up to show support for the family and respect for the veteran and for his service to the country. We do whatever we can, flag lines and things like that. Our goal is just to show respect,” explained Mike Strang, an Army veteran who lives in the Pittsburgh suburb of Munhall. “It’s important to keep doing this, and it’s important to have a turnout like this.

“Another one of our goals is to try and get younger people involved and, hopefully, produce a patriot group that continues this after we are gone,” he added.

John McFall of Monongahela, Pa., was the ride captain. He said the group participates to honor what veterans have done for everyone.

“It’s an honor to bring him home and to finally have closure,” McFall said. “We just wish it was sooner.”

The turnout along the route did not surprise McFall, who served in the Navy from 1971 to 1975.

“It’s amazing how everyone knows. People find a way to get the information, and it’s shared,” he added. “We just have to keep taking care of our veterans.

McFall said he had been encouraged to become a ride captain by his wife and inspired by the efforts of a ride captain who was a nearly 90-year-old Korean War veteran.

“It shows a sense of pride in our community, and we are welcoming a hero home,” Steubenville Police Chief Wes Crawford said. “I think it’s important that we remember everybody who serves our country, especially anyone who makes the ultimate sacrifice in honor of our country. People like Lt. Gilbert are the reason we’re here today.”

Highway patrol Lt. Robert Bodo, the commander of the Steubenville post, said being involved in the homecoming was important.

“It’s to show respect to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. When we were asked to help with the escort, we jumped on it right away. It has united the town -- there were people from everywhere, from what I heard, all the way down,” he said.

Also participating with the motorcade was Mayor Ralph Petrella, who described it as an emotional ride.

“When you think about the sacrifice Lt. Gilbert made and for giving his life for our country, it’s very touching and emotional. I’m really proud of our city today,” Petrella said.

“It’s of the utmost importance to remember what it means to be free, and that every day, there are young men and women sacrificing their lives, their limbs and their futures for our everyday freedoms -- to be able to vote, to be able to attend any church, to be able to be with people of different races -- we need to think about that every day,” he added.

Gilbert is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, and his name is inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his four brothers, Henry and John Ogden of Utah, Calvin Gilbert of Steubenville and Aaron Gilbert of Dayton; and two sisters, Naomie Eubanks of Ogden, Utah, and Antsnette Jeter of Dayton. Surviving are many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, along with extended family members.

Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to time of services at noon Saturday at Mount Carmel Community Baptist Church, 708 N. Fifth St. Burial will follow at Union Cemetery. Vinson Mortuary is handling the arrangements.

“This is about love for our soldiers,” Vinson explained. “We cannot give enough respect to our soldiers who put their lives on the line, so that we can run to Kroger and have our own opinions. Say what you will about America, but what’s happening with him right now, and the love that is being shown, it is just beautiful.”

Amy Prolago, an auxiliary member and Legion rider with Stevens-Christian Memorial American Legion Post 557 in Wintersville, was proud to be a part of the afternoon and to welcome Gilbert home and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“God said today was his day to come home,” she explained.

(Staff writer Craig Howell contributed to this report)