Korean War Veteran killed in action to be laid to rest

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL)- The year of planning and putting together a full military funeral service for Major Sergeant David Paul Sluder seems minuscule in comparison to the 73 years his family has waited to find out what happened to him.

“My only memory of my uncle was when I was ten years old,” said Sluder’s niece Gerri Hayden.

The army man served in World War II and re-enlisted when the Korean conflict began.

“He was fighting at Rum River with the 63rd division and 24th infantry,” said Hayden. “There was a communication outage that day so his commanding officer sent him to the little village nearby to warn the American soldiers that were there and the village people that the enemy was coming Unfortunately, the enemy was already there.”

But his family only recently learned of what led to his final moments, thanks to fellow Sergeant James Bolt, through the Korean War Project.

“He kept a daily diary of all of the events daily and published of the Korean War and published his memoirs,” Hayden said of Bolt.

Sluder’s daughter, Mary, whom he had never had the chance to meet, put out a plea begging anyone with information to share it.

“This James Bolt sent her an email. ‘I know him. That’s Paul Sluder. He was my friend. I fought with him. I know exactly what happened to him,'” said Hayden. “He told her that the village chief had told him that he watched the enemy kill the man with the three stripes on his uniform and where he was.”

His daughter took that to the Army Liaison. Family members gave DNA to see if it matched any remains.

On September 27, 2023, they got the call that Sluder’s remains had been buried at the Punchbowl National Cemetery in Hawaii.

“[His daughter] had gone over to Hawaii and got to see the remains of her father and her words were, I have finally met my father,” said Hayden. “And when she told me that, it just it just broke my heart.”

It finally gave the family answers as to what happened on July 14, 1950.

“It really gives you a feeling of peace to know that he’s found. He’s been identified,” Hayden said. “We’re not guessing. He’s definitely been identified.”

This Sunday, September 29, a little more than a year after the official confirmation, Sluder will be laid to rest with full military honors in a true celebration of his life for giving the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

“His coming home has brought so many people together,” said Hayden.

This weekend will be the first time Sluder’s daughter and her children will meet his family in person.

“She will be going up there and they will get to see her children will get to see where their grandfather was born and raised,” said Hayden. “So maybe they can have a connection there.”

His service is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Gazebo on the grounds of the James H. Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Several people will give remarks and there will even be a flyover. It is open to the public.

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