Sgt. 1st Class Ellis Coon died more than 70 years ago, in a North Korean POW camp on the other side of the globe, withered from a man in his prime to a nub and dying a slow death of malnutrition and a lack of medical care.
On Saturday, months after military scientists positively identified his remains through DNA analysis, what few relatives he had left — none of whom knew him personally — gathered for his funeral and burial with military honors in Hollywood Cemetery in McComb.
“He was my great-uncle, my grandmother's brother,” said Bro. Ray Bishop, who sang at Coon’s funeral at Craft-Dillon Funeral Home. “I was shocked to find out I had an uncle I never knew. I’m glad that he’s here. I’m glad that they found him.”
Coon was born Nov. 15, 1920, in Mount Hermon, La., to Isiah and Viola Coon. He joined the U.S. Army while living in Osyka and was assigned to Battery C, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division.
Coon’s unit was forced to retreat during the battle of Ch’Ongch’on in North Korea and was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950. Repatriated POWs told military officials after the war that Coon had been taken prisoner and died in POW Camp No. 5 around Feb. 14, 1951.
He was presumed dead in March 1954 and his body was declared unrecoverable in January 1956.
Then in 1993, North Korean officials handed over the remains of 34 U.S. soldiers, and Coon was finally identified in September.
His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the National Cemetery of the Pacific.
While no one at his funeral knew who Coon was as friend or relative, they all knew that he had given his life for his country.
“Many of us may not know this young man or his many contributions,” funeral home employee Warren Banks said in opening the service with prayer
Yvonne Pounds Lewis said she read about Coon in the Enterprise-Journal and figured he was a relative.
“I am just thrilled to find out that this is my relative. I just so happened to stumble on it in the newspapers and when I saw the name Coon, I knew that if he was Black these were my folks,” she said.
Lewis said she remembered Coon’s father, who he referred to as Uncle Ike.
“They’re family and my grandmother was Ollie Coon,” she said. “I’m just delighted to find out. I did not know him, so I cannot contribute anything in his favor, but he served me and I did not know. He lost his life in service to our country. He kept us safe and I am eternally grateful.”
McComb City Administrator David Myers, who retired as a sergeant major in the Army Reserves, said he felt obligated to pay his respects to Coon’s family.
“I didn’t know Sgt. 1st Class Coon but I do know that he was a soldier,” he said. “For those of us in the military we always have a saying that we don’t leave soldiers behind. To give your life for your country, it’s a special thing being a soldier. Everybody can’t do it.”
Aside from the few distant relatives remaining, Coon’s survivors included wife, Ruth; and a son, Ellis Jr., now deceased.
“I want to thank everybody who came today to acknowledge an uncle we didn't know,” said his niece, JoAnn Brumfield.
In giving the eulogy, Bro. Julius Williams recalled losing comrades during his own service in Vietnam.
“I understand what it is to go and not come back,” he said, adding that he recalls flying to Vietnam and being told that not everyone on board would return alive. “This man was 30 years old, a young man. And then, some of us don’t even take into consideration what he did for us.
“When you see somebody with. A military cap on, you ought to stop and tell them, ‘Thank you for your service.’”
