U.S. Army Sgt. Willis McNiel disappeared in 1950 during the Korean War, and is now receiving a proper military sendoff roughly 75 years later.
McNiel, who was 20 years old when he went missing several decades ago, will be interred Aug. 31 in East Greenwood Cemetery in Weatherford, Texas. Services and interment are being coordinated by Galbreaith Pickard Funeral Chapel.
That is according to U.S. Army Human Resources Command, whose Past Conflict Repatriations Branch plays a major role in identifying, locating and contacting subsequent generation family members of soldiers missing or killed in action during WWII and the Korean War. That includes positively identifying previously undiscovered or unknown remains.
The service said that in late 1950, McNiel was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2 during a major battle near the Jangjin (Chosin) Reservoir in North Korea.
Lacking evidence of his continued survival, the Army issued a presumptive finding of death for McNiel on Dec. 31, 1953. More than 50 years later, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for McNiel on Dec. 3, 2025. His name He is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
McNiel’s name is inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, which was updated in 2022.
The Korean War Veterans Association says that there were 36,574 in-theater deaths during the Korean War, and 54,246 when incorporating non-theater deaths.
McNiel’s Life and Enlistment
The Galbreaith Pickard Funeral Chapel, in McNiel’s obituary, called his military service “the ultimate sacrifice in service to his country.”
He was born on July 19, 1930, in Chico, Texas, to Willis Franklin McNiel, Sr. and Maudie (Dudley) McNiel. He was raised in Weatherford and his youth included attending the Baptist church, riding horses, and the companionship of family and friends. Those who knew him remember a young man whose love for home was matched only by his devotion to serving his country, the funeral home said.
McNiel is survived by four nieces and nephews, numerous other relatives and friends, and his “special friend and Army buddy,” Jimmy Roden, also of Weatherford.
“For more than seven decades, his sacrifice has remained a lasting reminder that the freedoms enjoyed today have come at an immeasurable cost,” the obituary reads. “Sgt. McNiel’s return home is not simply the closing of a chapter in history, but the fulfillment of a promise that America’s fallen heroes are never forgotten. His family, friends, and community now have the opportunity to honor him with the dignity and gratitude he so deeply deserves.”
One of McNiel’s nieces, Connie McNiel Bunn, told the Weatherford Democrat in July that her father—who was 16 years McNiel’s senior—always mentioned him.
“My daddy always talked about Bud—that’s what he called him,” Bunn said of the uncle she never met. “And he always prayed for him to come home.”
Preparing for McNiel to ‘Rest’
McNiel was 9 years old when his farming father died, and 11 when his mother died.
Bunn said that horses played a big role in her uncle’s life, saying that it was part of the family lore and growing up in the heart of Texas.
Due to the advent and technology of DNA matching, McNiel’s remains were exhumed. That was when Bunn’s older sister living in Fort Worth, Carlotta McNiel Parsons, reportedly got a call last year confirming that their uncle had been identified.
Dental records and X-rays matched his person.
“It is 100% him,” McNiel”s great-niece Lauren McNiel Swaim reportedly said.
The Aug. 31 ceremony will include a eulogy delivered by Garren Still, Bunn’s son, and the singing of the national anthem by Bunn’s 16-year-old granddaughter, Piper Still.
For Bunn, who admitted this day may have never come, preparing for the official final goodbye is an emotional roller coaster.
“I’ve had a lot of loss in my lifetime, and I’m strong,” Bunn said. “But it’s gonna be hard. I’m 73, and I’ve waited on this day my whole life.
“We’re all gonna be squalling, but we’re happy. I am so happy that he’s finally gonna be put to rest in his hometown.”
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