Fulfilling a promise: Credit River man hopes for closure with North Korean repatriation

Prior Lake American

Though more than 60 years have passed, Credit River Township resident Doug Arneson remembers being confused at the funeral of his uncle.

He was 5 years old at the time and knew what funerals were, but couldn't understand the concept of a funeral with no remains.

"There was a tombstone out at the cemetery," Arneson said. "It sat right next to the road. Every other grave had an area where the grass covered the casket. The stone was so close to the road, there would have been no way you could have a body there. For a child, that was a difficult thing to come to grips with."

His uncle, John C. Micheel, was a commander with the U.S. Navy. On Feb. 1, 1953, Micheel was piloting a dive-bombing mission over North Korea. His plane was shot down and Micheel was killed.

Arneson said he still remembers two soldiers visiting the home he shared with his mother, father and grandfather in South Dakota to tell the family that his uncle had died.

"It was a very emotional night to say the least for my aunts and uncles, but especially my mother," he said. "She never got over it. There was always that hope for her that he would come back."

More than 5,300 soldiers died in North Korea during the Korean War, which lasted from 1950-1953. North Korea sent remains of bodies until 2005, when former President George W. Bush stopped the program amid rising tensions between the nations.

"It has been very difficult," Arneson said. "It has not been an easy go for anybody trying to bring back the remains of these individuals."

Efforts to recover the bodies hit roadblocks until the summit on June 12 between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jon Un in Singapore — during which the leaders said remains would be returned to the U.S.

On June 18, Arneson wrote a letter to Trump. In it, he wrote about the issue of repatriation and asked Trump to pursue the recovery efforts and that it would be a "terrific good will gesture" on the part of North Korea.

"I realize in the scheme of things the issue I raise is somewhat small, but the significance to those affected is major," Arneson wrote in the letter. "A promise made to all soldiers is that the United States does not leave any soldier behind, we need to fulfill that promise."

On Aug. 1, 55 containers of presumed human remains were delivered to Hawaii, where a laboratory will test the remains and identify if possible. Arneson had submitted his DNA in the 1990s for the military to have on file and test against with recovered remains.

During her press briefing that morning, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders mentioned Arneson and his uncle.

"The families of these soldiers have been waiting for more than 60 years for their loved ones to come home," Sanders said. "We hope as remains are identified, families like those of Commander John C. Micheel can find peace. ... John's nephew Doug, who lives in Minnesota, recently wrote the president a letter explaining how his uncle was a special person who grew up in the Great Depression and wanted to serve his country.

Sanders mentioned another letter from a family member of a soldier who had died in North Korea, before continuing: "Both of these men and their families represent thousands of proud, patriotic families," Sanders said. "The president is committed to them and will work to bring them the closure they deserve."

Arneson, who hadn't seen the press conference, didn't know what to expect after he had sent his letter and had lost hope he was going to see a response after a few weeks had passed.

"I didn't know if anybody would even read it," Arneson said. "As it turned out, someone did read it. ... Weeks went by and the meeting was held and so forth. I'll be honest, I had gotten to the point where I didn't think I was going to see anything."

Shortly after, Arneson received a call from a reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, who told him that she had received the letter he wrote the president from the White House and asked if she could interview him for a story.

During the interview, the reporter asked Arneson several times if the White House had contacted him, to which he said no. On her way out, Arneson asked the reporter why she had asking him that.

No one had told him about the press conference, until the interview.

"You could have blown me over with a feather," Arneson said. "I couldn't believe it. Then I watched it and I was even more shocked. Who am I that the President of the United States might possibly have read the letter I had sent? It was a great honor to have the opportunity to put my thoughts and hopes before him."

Arneson said the family doesn't need a significant amount of his uncle's remains for closure.

"Even if you have a fragment, that will allow you to have a full service and closure that he's home," he said. "That's as much as anything that people are looking for is the fact that yes, he's back home with his loved ones and no longer someplace else."

Arneson said he wrote the letter to take a chance that something would happen.

"The chance of something occurring is pretty small, but if you don't do something, then there's no chance," he said. "I'm really happy about the exposure. Not for me, not specifically for my uncle, but that people remember those that have served that gave their last full measure and they all deserve to come home."