SHE KEPT THEIR HOME READY FOR HIM FOR 63 YEARS — CLARA GANTT’S EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF LOVE AND WAITING
For 63 years, Clara Gantt never gave up hope that her husband, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Gantt, would somehow come home.
Joseph had served in World War II before becoming a field medic during the Korean War. In December 1950, he was taken prisoner while defending his unit’s position near Kunu-ri, Korea. He later died in March 1951, but for decades, Clara was left without the kind of closure she desperately wanted.
Clara never remarried.
Instead, she continued attending meetings in Washington where families of missing service members received updates. Even after decades had pᴀssed, she continued to hold onto hope that she would eventually learn what happened to Joseph.
Her devotion even extended to the home she shared with the memory of him.
Clara bought a house in Inglewood and hired a gardener because she knew Joseph disliked yardwork. She wanted everything to be ready for him if he ever returned — so he could simply come home and enjoy his life.
Then, after more than six decades, the news Clara had waited for finally came.
Joseph’s remains were identified and returned to the United States. In December 2013, Clara, then 94, waited at Los Angeles International Airport as his flag-draped casket arrived.
It was the homecoming she had imagined for years, but not in the way she had once hoped.
Clara reportedly told reporters that she had always loved her husband and considered him the one person for her. After 63 years apart, she finally had the chance to bring him home.
Joseph was later laid to rest with full military honors in Inglewood, with Clara present for the service.
For most people, 63 years is an entire lifetime.
For Clara, it was a lifetime spent waiting for the man she had promised herself to.
She kept his memory alive.
She kept their home.
And when the day finally came, she was there to welcome him home.
It was not the reunion she had dreamed about — but after 63 years, she finally had the closure she had prayed for.
Source: Los Angeles Times – Missing POW’s remains returned to his widow 63 years after his death
