Soldier's grave found by family members after six decades

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- It has been nearly 60 years since Lt. Joel Corn went to his grave in the Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgian during World War II.

But his family didn't know his fate until a cousin, Dr. Joel Corn of Oklahoma City, finally found the burial site.

This summer, Corn plans to return to Europe with friends and a rabbi to fulfill a religious obligation of his family's Jewish faith. They will say a prayer, called a kaddish, which is recited at every Jewish funeral and each year on the anniversary of the person's death.

Lt. Corn's parents were informed during the war that their son was missing in action. They never learned his true fate.

"His folks went to their grave hoping he was alive," Corn said. "They always thought that someplace, somehow he was still alive."

The headstone on Lt. Corn's grave lists his death as Aug. 1, 1943. He was a member of the 344th Bomb Squadron of the 98th Bomb Group.

Corn, 77, found out his cousin's fate last year when he went to France and toured the Normandy battlefield.

At an American cemetery, he learned that the names of all American soldiers buried in Europe were in a computer at the cemetery. His cousin's name was listed in the computer.

The cousins grew up in New York.