Finally AT REST
The family of the late Sgt. John Hall keep his memory alive with photos, awards and memorial certificates. They were presented with a Purple Heart in his honor.
The remains of a Jennings native who was captured and killed during the Korean War have been returned to the family after being missing for over 67 years.
According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPPA), U.S. Army Sgt. John W. Hall, a Jennings native, was finally laid to rest in Houston July 6, after his remains were identified in Honolulu, Hawaii, in June 2017.
Hall’s great-niece, Margie Renee Moses Sinegal, who lives in Jennings along with seven other family members, attended the ceremony in Houston this month. They were there to greet their family’s war hero as he was finally laid to rest in the homeland he fought so valiantly for.
Sinegal said she and the other family members in attendance were overjoyed to be able to bring Hall home after over 65 years.
“When we first heard that they had identified the remains, we were so happy that he would be coming home after all these years,” she said. “The service was amazing. They even stopped traffic just for the procession and there was a motorcade and many members of the military and police present to honor him.”
Hall was born in Jennings to the late Margie Moses Hall. He also had two siblings, Alberta Brooks and Melva McKinnys. Sinegal said Hall’s legacy lives on in the memories of his descendants, including her father who was named John Wesley Hall after the family’s fallen soldier.
Sinegal said she remembers seeing the picture of Hall in their home during her childhood.
“We heard the story growing up and I always wondered what happened to him,” Sinegal said. “We really didn’t get to know him because he was so young when he left.”
According to DPPA, in late November 1950, Hall was a member of Headquarters Battery, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. On Nov. 29, Hall’s unit received orders to move from Kunuri to Sunchon, North Korea.
The division received reports that the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces had set up fireblocks on several roads, including their planned withdrawal route, according to DPPA. The division organized a movement into convoys, with Hall in the eighth convoy. Hall’s battalion began their withdrawal route through an area known as “The Gauntlet.” Hall was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, in the vicinity of Somindong, North Korea.
“We found out in 2005 when they found the body and sent it to Hawaii for identification, but it took a while to identify the remains,” Sinegal said.
At the memorial service in Houston, Hall’s family members received a Purple Heart in his honor, a distinction awarded to those injured or killed while serving. They also received a Presidential Memorial Certificate signed by President Donald Trump.
“It was such a nice service. There were so many people there to show their respects and to speak about him and the others veterans who sacrificed their lives to protect the freedom for all,” she said. “I just wished my grandmother could have been there with us.” Sinegal said she agreed that Margie was there in spirit.
Sinegal expressed her gratitude for those that cared enough about their loved one after all these years to locate him and assure he had a proper burial and memorial service.
“It means a lot to know that after all these years they are still concerned about bringing him home,” Sinegal said.
Sinegal said she and her husband plan to visit Houston regularly and are happy to have their long lost relative on American soil so that they can visit his gravesite.
According to DPPA, Hall’s name is currently recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.