More than 60 years after a teenage soldier disappeared during a fierce Korean War battle, the DNA provided by one of his siblings has led to his remains being identified and returned to his upstate New York hometown for burial. 
 
 This undated photo provided by the U.S. Department of Defense shows Army Pvt. George Conklin, a teenage New York soldier killed in the Korean War more than 60 years ago. Conklin's remains have been identified... (Associated Press) 
 
 A plane carrying the casket with George J. Conklin Jr.'s remains arrived Wednesday at the Rochester airport, where it was met by a military honor guard, family members and Patriot Guard motorcycle riders. A hearse then took the casket east to Conklin's hometown of Phelps, a rural Finger Lakes village of about 2,000 residents. 
 
 Over the last few miles, the route was lined with veterans, firefighters and residents paying tribute to Conklin. When the motorcade reached Cheney Funeral Home in Phelps, it was greeted by hundreds of people who fell silent as his casket was removed from the hearse. 
 
 "It was a phenomenal sight," said funeral home owner Peter Cheney. "It was amazingly silent. It was like a peace come over everybody." 
 
 Conklin was 17 when he went into the Army in 1949. He was a private first-class serving in the 7th Infantry Division's 31st Regimental Combat Team as it supported encircled U.S. Marines fighting their way out of the mountainous terrain near North Korea's Chosin Reservoir in early December 1950, when temperatures dipped far below freezing. Conklin was among a large contingent of American soldiers overrun by Chinese forces. He was reported missing, then listed as killed in action when the war ended in 1953. 
 
 His father died in 1991 and his mother three years later without knowing how he died or where he was buried. Conklin had two younger brothers: Ken, who died in 2009, and Carl, who died in April. 
 
 Nearly a decade ago, Carl gave a DNA sample to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, the Pentagon unit charged with finding and identifying missing U.S. military personnel recovered from overseas battlefields. In September 2004, a JPAC team recovered human remains and military material evidence at two sites near the Chosin Reservoir. Pentagon officials said Conklin's remains were identified in September at JPAC's laboratory in Hawaii through the DNA sample. 
 
 The news was greeted with happiness tinged with sadness that his brothers didn't live long enough see his remains returned to Phelps, said Karen DesCamp, Carl Conklin's daughter. 
 
 "Everybody was very happy and, of course, wishing it could have been years earlier," she said. 
 
 Conklin is one of several 31st Regimental Combat Team soldiers whose remains were recovered in 2004 and identified in recent years. 
 
 Conklin, who was promoted posthumously to corporal, will be buried next to his parents during a graveside service with full military honors Saturday morning at Resthaven Cemetery in Phelps. ||||| Buy Photo Eight-year-old Landon Ruder, left, and David Henderson, 10, of Boy Scouts Pack 469 salute during honor guard preparations Wednesday for the arrival of Army Cpl. George Conklin Jr. at Greater Rochester International Airport. Conklin was killed in the Korean War, and his remains were discovered in 2004. (Photo: Donyelle Davis/staff photographer )Buy Photo 
 
 The remains of an American soldier — reported missing nearly 63 years ago while fighting in the Korean War — finally returned home Wednesday. 
 
 A casket draped in the American flag, carrying Army Cpl. George Conklin Jr., of Phelps, Ontario County, was flown into Rochester and greeted with formal military honors. 
 
 Conklin was 18 when he went missing in early December 1950, following a battle in North Korea with Chinese forces, according to the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel office. 
 
 In 2004, a Joint U.S./Democratic People’s Republic of Korea team surveyed the grounds where Conklin and his fellow members of Company 1, 31st Regimental Combat Team, had fought. The team discovered a mass grave filled with human remains wearing uniforms that belonged to U.S. infantry and field artillery personnel. 
 
 Evidence and forensic identification tools, including DNA from Conkin’s brother, were used to confirm his identity. 
 
 “I would encourage family members who haven’t given DNA yet, to please do so,” said Karen DesCamp, Conklin’s niece. “Look at this — 63 years later.” 
 
 DesCamp said her uncle will be buried with his parents, siblings and other family members in Phelps. 
 
 “It’s closure. He’s coming home,” DesCamp said. “It’s a blessing.” 
 
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– George Conklin was all of 18 when he got killed fighting in the Korean War in 1950. More than six decades later, the Army corporal is finally back home for burial in upstate New York, reports AP. His were among the remains recovered near North Korea's Chosin Reservoir in 2004, and a military lab recently identified Conklin thanks to a DNA sample given years ago by a now-deceased brother. “It’s closure," a niece tells the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. "He's coming home.” Conklin will be buried with full military honors on Saturday in Phelps, next to his parents. The teen enlisted at 17, was reported missing after the Chosin battle, then listed as killed in action when the war ended. Hundreds greeted his casket when it arrived in Phelps yesterday. "It was a phenomenal sight," says the funeral home owner. "It was amazingly silent. It was like a peace come over everybody."