MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2022 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Sparks, McMahan, England, Thompson, Michel, McLendon, Butler (38th), Frazier, Jackson (11th)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE LEGACY OF UNITED STATES ARMY KOREAN WAR CASUALTY PFC JIMMY ROWLAND OF BALDWYN, MISSISSIPPI, WHO WAS IDENTIFIED AMONG THE UNKNOWN BURIED SOLDIERS IN THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL CEMETERY OF THE PACIFIC (PUNCHBOWL) IN HONOLULU, HAWAII, AND EXTENDING THE DEEPEST SYMPATHY AND RESPECT OF THE LEGISLATURE TO HIS SURVIVING FAMILY.
WHEREAS, we join the family and community of Baldwyn, Mississippi, in welcoming home United States Army Korean War casualty Private First Class (PFC) Jimmy Rowland; and
WHEREAS, PFC Jimmy Rowland was born on February 14, 1931, and enlisted in the United States Army on December 15, 1948. He served in the Heavy Mortar Company, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, while the division defended against a Democratic People's Republic of Korea, also known as North Korea, offensive in July 1950; and
WHEREAS, PFC Rowland was reported Missing In Action while fighting the enemy along the Kum River north of Taejon, Republic of Korea (R.O.K., also known as South Korea), on July 16, 1950, and American forces reported that they could not locate or recover his remains; and
WHEREAS, his unit dropped him from the rolls in August 1950. In February 1951, four sets of remains were recovered. Three of the individuals were identified as casualties of the 19th Infantry Regiment, but the fourth was unable to be identified. Those remains were later transported with all the other unidentified Korean War remains and buried as Unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu; and
WHEREAS, in July 2018 historians and anthropologists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency proposed a plan to disinter and identify the 652 Korean War unknown burials at the Punchbowl. On March 4, 2019, as part of the Korean War Identification Project PFC Rowland's remains were disinterred and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. Scientists from DPAA, and scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System were successful in identifying PFC Rowland. The family was then notified with the long-awaited news; and
WHEREAS, Rowland's name is recorded on the American Battle Monument Commission's Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette was placed next to his name to indicate that he has been accounted for; and
WHEREAS, funeral services with full military honors were held on January 15, 2022, with his nephew J.B. Williams, Brother Joe Coggins and United States Representative Trent Kelly officiating. Full graveside services with military honors followed in Asbury Cemetery in Baldwyn, Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, Rowland's family preceding him in death are his parents, Robert "Bob" Thomas Rowland and Josephine Frances Heavner Rowland and his twelve siblings. He is survived by his sister-in-law, Dorothy Rowland; brother-in-law, Flavis A. "Bill" Bishop; and a host of nieces and nephews; and
WHEREAS, PFC Jimmy Rowland's legacy is a strong and free America, and for his ultimate sacrifice a grateful State of Mississippi thanks him and his family:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby pay tribute to the legacy of United States Army Korean War Casualty PFC Jimmy Rowland of Baldwyn, Mississippi, who was identified among the unknown soldiers buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) in Honolulu, Hawaii, and extend the deepest sympathy and respect of the Legislature to his surviving family.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Private First Class Jimmy Rowland and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.