(WICHITA, Kan.)—
Forty-three years-ago this week, a Wichita man was killed in Vietnam. He was listed as Missing In Action for years. Since then, his remains have been found, and buried at Arlington.But there was one last thing to do in Wichita. It was a moment that lasted just seconds. But for Billy McGonigle's family, this moment was decades in the making.
"He was a very good boy," remembered his mother, Grace McGonigle. "He went to high school, and graduated from South High. He would do anything for anybody."
Billy McGonigle enlisted in the Marines before he graduated high school. Almost a year later, May 10, 1968, a knock on the door.
"I was fixing supper," said Grace recently, "and my daughter Virginia went to the door, to see who was there. And she yelled 'Mama, come here'."
On Thursday, Billy's younger sister Virigina recalled that moment. "I was the one who answered the door and saw the priest and the Marine standing behind him. And we knew right then - without a word being spoken."
But for years, the government listed the South High grad as Missing In Action. That is, until 1999. "I'm glad they did what they needed to do to find the remains," said Virginia. "There were 11 others with him."
With the help of fellow Marines and their memories, the remains of McGonigle and others were found. "They got 17 teeth," explained Harry McGonigle, who adopted Billy at age 4, "and identified 5 of the boys. All but one were buried in the community casket."
The McGonigle family attended the Arlington Service in 2005. But there was still something in Wichita to do.
"On the Vietnam Wall," explained Anita Dixon of the Gold Star Mothers Organization, "Billy's name has always had a cross beside it. Which means his remains were never recovered -- he was MIA." On Thursday, May 12 -- 43 years and two days after he was killed, he was remembered with the date his remains were recovered.
"I want today to be a day of honor and remembrance for Billy," said Dixon. "I want peace for Harry and Grace."
"It makes me really glad that this is happening for my folks," explained Virginia, Billy's sister. "You know, I've always at ease with the fact that he was killed, and that his remains were brought home. Hopefully this will close it for them."
It may be just one name, on one stone, in one city. But for one family, it is one life remembered, given for one nation.
