Iowa native says he'll be there when warrior brother's long-missing remains are brought home

Dave White, now 76, was only 2 when Delbert White left Ottumwa to serve in the Korean War.

Nearly three-quarters of a century later, he is finally preparing to bury his long-lost older brother, whose remains have been identified decades after they were returned to U.S. custody with those of other American soldiers who died as prisoners of war in North Korea.

What happened to Delbert White?

Delbert White was captured by enemy forces on Dec. 1, 1950, according to the U.S Defense Department's POW/MIA Accounting Agency. He and other captive American troops were marched to a prison camp in North Korea, where he died of malnutrition the following March.

Around the time Dave White's mother, Darlene, learned his brother was missing in action, her husband died.

"It was devastating to my mother," he said.

Delbert White was the second oldest of her eight children, of whom only Dave White and his younger sister are still alive.

His remains were among 38 returned to the U.S. military in a postwar exchange. His and others that could not be identified were buried as "unknowns" at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu in 1956, the Defense Department release said.

More:This Black Iowan saved hundreds of soldiers in WWI. Should he have received a Medal of Honor?

No dental, medical records to assist in identification

After Delbert White's disappearance, the U.S. Army reached out to Darlene White to see if she had any records that could aid in his identification. But he was still young when he died and had never been to a doctor or dentist. His brother still has the handwritten letter.

"In her later years, it really affected her," Dave White said, adding that he may have become more cognizant of his mother's sorrow as he himself grew older.

He and a sister, Louise, who has since died, gave DNA samples around 20 years ago to help with identification. Himself a Vietnam veteran, he paid close attention to the POW/MIA issue, attending briefings across the country, and said he learned more about his brother.

"I've determined through the years that he was more my stature and my height, just about a twin," he said. "I have pictures of him in uniform that looks just like me in my uniform."

Dave White at 17 served in the U.S. Navy. He remembers wanting to be a Marine, but said his mother wouldn't let him join the combat-oriented force, saying she'd already lost one son.

Making the match

Darlene White died in 1985 at age 72, always hoping her son's remains would be identified, Dave White said.

In 2019, the unidentified remains in Hawaii were exhumed and sent to the POW/MIA agency's lab for analysis, including DNA testing, which positively identified those belonging to Delbert White, the release said.

His name had been etched along with those of the other unidentified soldiers on a memorial at the Honolulu crypt, Davie White said he had visited it numerous times, but never thought to search for his brother's name.

"If I'd known that years ago, I could have seen it," he said.

He said he was given a detailed written description of how his brother's remains were identified.

"I've got a whole book here that's about an inch thick that tells that whole process," Dave said. "It's got pictures of his skeleton and all that, but since my sister Louise is gone, I was the only contact."

He said he appreciates that his brother's remains are nearly complete, missing only the end of a few fingers.

Coming home to Ottumwa

Now a Texas resident, he will travel to Ottumwa for the June 16 burial, he said.

"Oh, absolutely," he said, adding that he'll also go to the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware when the remains arrive there to be prepared for interment.

"I'll meet him when he comes off of the plane in Dover," he said.

Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her

on Twitter@NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Brother who Iowan last saw when he was 2 coming home from Korean War