The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING UNITED STATES ARMY SERGEANT HOWARD R. BELDEN FOR HIS BRAVE
SACRIFICE AT THE BATTLE OF CHOSIN RESERVOIR DURING THE KOREAN WAR
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HON. ELISE M. STEFANIK
of new york
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Ms. STEFANIK. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of United States Army Sergeant Howard R. Belden. At the age of nineteen, Sergeant Belden gave his life in service to this nation at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War. After nearly seventy-one years, Sergeant Belden's remains were accounted for on October 14, 2021.
Sergeant Belden was born in 1931 to James and Esther Belden. Shortly after the conclusion of World War II, Sergeant Belden enlisted in the Army at the age of seventeen. Two years later, he deployed to Korea as a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. On December 1, 1950, his unit was attacked by enemy forces in North Korean territory near the Chosin Reservoir. This attack occurred in the midst of a battle that would become the bloodiest seventeen days of the entire conflict. During this stretch, a massive enemy offensive comprising of over one hundred thousand Chinese communist troops forced the withdrawal of the much smaller United Nations coalition. This assault claimed the lives of at least one thousand American soldiers, including Sergeant Belden.
In the aftermath of the fighting, the Army listed Sergeant Belden as
``unaccounted for'' and informed his family that he was missing in action and presumed dead. Decades later, in August 2018, North Korea agreed to release the remains of fifty-five fallen American service members back to the United States. Sergeant Belden's remains were among those returned and were finally identified on October 14, 2021. To his family's relief, the Army reclassified his status to ``accounted for'' on that day.
In April 2022, Sergeant Belden will reach his final resting place in the Arlington National Cemetery, where he will be buried with full military honors. On behalf of New York's 21st Congressional District, I thank Sergeant Belden for his service and his sacrifice, and I am proud to honor his legacy of defending American liberty, freedom, and democracy.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 37
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