Body of Marine killed in Korean War laid to rest in Rancho Palos Verdes
RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. -- After 68 years, an American hero is home.
In 1950 Private First Class Roger Gonzales was killed in the Korean War.
His remains were listed as one of the "unknowns" at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii.
In June, new DNA testing identified his remains, and the San Pedro native was flown back to California.
His two sisters were there to welcome their brother home.
Gonzales, a former football player at San Pedro High School, was 20 years old when he was killed in action.
He had only been in Korea a few weeks when he joined his fellow Marines at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.
He was killed by a sniper's bullet two months before his 21st birthday.
The family chose to have him buried at Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes - where he could be laid to rest next to his mother.
The Marine was buried with full military honors.
The remains of 7,688 U.S. military personnel are still missing from the Korean War. But this American hero is home.
