Date: June 05, 2002

"Scout, 19, honors casualties of war
He earns Eagle rank by building memorial for St. Clair POWs, MIAs
By Associated Press

   WALES TOWNSHIP -- A St. Clair County teen-ager earned his Eagle Scout badge by creating a project to preserve the memory of local servicemen.
   
Joe Pung Jr., 19, created a memorial to those who have been classified as missing in action or prisoners of war. The memorial to about 60 St. Clair County natives was dedicated Memorial Day at Goodells County Park.
  
 Pung also received his Eagle Scout badge during the ceremony.
 
  "Even I didn't know how much this project would influence the community," Pung said to about 200 people gathered for the dedication.
 
  Two cobblestone pillars form the bases of two plaques that list the POWs and MIAs. Between them is the U.S. flag and the black-and-white POW-MIA flag.
 
  Marty Eddy, president of the Prisoner of War Committee of Michigan, said about 15 or 20 memorials similar to the one at Goodells County Park exist in the state.
 
  "This will help ensure the POWs and MIAs from St. Clair County are not forgotten," Eddy told the Times Herald of Port Huron.
 
  Several members of the Dodge family came to the ceremony to honor U.S. Army Sgt. LaVerne H. Dodge, who either was killed or captured on June 13, 1952, in North Korea. His body was never found.

   Dodge's oldest sister, Evelyn Summerville, 81, of East China Township said she's never had closure. She last saw her brother just before he returned to Korea in 1952, when he was 27.
 
  Members of his family were contacted by Army officials in 2000 to collect DNA samples in case his body was recovered. They have never heard back.
 
  Monday's ceremony closed with a pair of F-16 fighters from Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township flying over the memorial.
 
  The St. Clair County Allied Veterans Council will care for the memorial now that it's completed. "