Merlin Nicholas Schuster (my 8th cousin), the son of Emil Schuster and Elizabeth Hoefer (descendant from the Hober line), was born on 25 Nov 1923 in Farley, Iowa. He joined the service on 18 Jan 1949, after working on his family's farm in his teen years, and was discharged a year later. Merlin, however, was called back as a reserve on 27 Sep 1950 (due to the Korean Conflict) and was sent to Korea in November of 1950. Merlin was a radar man for the 82nd Anti Aircraft Artillery Battalion and 2nd infantry division.
On 13 Feb 1951, Merlin was taken captive as a Prisoner of War by the North Koreans while he was fighting near Hoensong, South Korea. PFC Merlin Schuster died a few months later, on 6 Jun 1951, while he was a prisoner in a North Korean camp. Merlin was awarded the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.
Sources: WWI, WWII & Korean War Casualty Listings (Ancestry.com)
US Korean War Casualties, 1950-1957
Note: I truly believe that it is important that we don't lose the stories of our family members, living and those that have gone long before us. To that end I think that telling these stories and creating books with these stories will hopefully preserve their memories for generations to come.
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