HOGANSVILLE, Ga. — Nearly 70 years after he was killed and later reported missing in action, a Hogansville, Georgia Korean War veteran is coming home to be laid to rest.
Army Sgt. Billy J. Maxwell was a member of the Heavy Mortar Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. His unit was engaged in intense fighting with the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea when he was killed. He was just 19.
Following the war, his remains could not be recovered, and Maxwell was reported missing in action Nov. 30, 1950.
His whereabouts would remain unknown for decades, until July 27, 2018, when North Korea turned over 55 boxes - purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War - during the historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un.
The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were turned over for identification. Among them were Maxwell's.
The sergeant will now be buried at Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Hogansville.
According to the city's website, the soldier's remains are expected to arrive Thursday about 2:45 p.m. at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. His great-nephew, who now serves in the U.S. Navy, is set to be his military escort from Hawaii back to Georgia.
Once in Atlanta, a military honor guard will be present as Maxwell's remains are removed from the airplane and loaded into the hearse. The Hogansville Police Department will then help escort him from the airport to the funeral home. The community is encouraged to line Georgia Highway 54 (East Main Street) and Johnson Street as the escort enters Hogansville from Interstate 85.
A funeral service and burial will take place Saturday, Nov. 9.
Sgt. Maxwell is preceded in death by an infant brother and sister, but at his death was survived by his mother and father, two sisters, and four brothers.
Only two brothers are living today; one resides in Hogansville and the other in Manchester, Georgia. Several nieces and nephews live in Troup, Coweta, Meriwether, Fayette, and Carroll counties.