For as long as she can remember, Sue Eads has felt the loss of 20-year-old U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Ted Katsoolias, who was reported as missing in action during the Korean War.

Although the 72-year-old St. Charles resident was not yet born when her uncle was reported as MIA on Thanksgiving Eve in 1950, her mother Jean was greatly impacted for life after losing her brother, only a year older and her best friend.

The two grew up in a tight-knit family with 13 half-brothers after their parents divorced but always had a special bond because of what they had gone through together. And Eads recalled how much her mom talked about Ted, including how badly she wanted him brought home and that he not be forgotten.

Jean Harrison died eight years ago with her brother still listed as missing. But Saturday a road sign dedicated to the West Chicago High School grad was unveiled on Route 59 — between Routes 38 and 64 — assuring the young war hero’s name will remain in the public’s eye.

Eads, who has continued her late mother’s quest for closure, was among about 65 family members, friends, officials and veterans who attended the event, including Gold Star Father Bob Patterson of North Aurora, who spearheaded this project with Rolling Thunder, Illinois Chapter 1, a motorcycle group dedicated to bringing full accountability for the tens of thousands of POW-MIAs from our nation’s wars.

Katsoolias is the first of four local MIAs to receive a roadside dedication. Those to follow include Army Sgt. First Class Ogden Neil Thompson of Aurora, who was declared missing in action on Nov. 1, 1950, while fighting the enemy near Unsan, North Korea, and declared presumed dead Dec. 31,1954; Army Pvt. First Class Wayne Wilder Hill Jr. — known as Sonny — a West Aurora High School graduate who was taken prisoner as part of the 34th Infantry Regiment near Taejon, South Korea, on July 20, 1950, and was murdered in a tunnel near Sunchon, North Korea, on Oct. 20, 1950, according to reports, and his remains were never recovered; and Army Staff Sgt. Robert Herreid, a 1965 Mooseheart graduate and star athlete who became a demolition expert with special forces in the Vietnam War and was reported missing Oct. 10, 1968, in the Chau Doc Province of South Vietnam and officially declared dead on Jan. 30, 1974.

Katsoolias was a member of B Company of the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, who went missing during a fierce battle with the Chinese Communist forces in the Chongchon River area in North Korea about 50 miles north of the capital of Pyongyang during the Korean War.

The 38th Infantry Regiment was “heavily engaged right from the beginning,” according to official sources. After several days of “chaotic fighting” through roadblock after roadblock, Katsoolias was reported lost.

“At the close of the war, more than 4,400 returned American POWs were extensively questioned as to whom they had seen die or disappear while in enemy hands, but none reported ever seeing or hearing about SFC Katsoolias,” the report continued.

“As near as we can determine, he was never alive in enemy hands but apparently fell during the day’s fighting. Lacking information about his continued survival, the U.S. Army … issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953.”

Eads received this information about her uncle at one of the many annual meetings she attended in Washington, D.C., for MIA families. Over the years, she’s made these trips because her mother’s arthritis made it too difficult to walk. And, as the oldest daughter, Eads also became keeper of Ted’s service memorabilia, including his uniform and medals that she hopes to someday donate to a museum.

“I did it at first because it meant so much to my mother,” she told me. “But now I do it because I am very interested. It was important to my mother and now I care so much about it.”

One of her most memorable experiences, Eads told me, was attending the rededication of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., on July 27, 2022, which included for the first time a Wall of Remembrance that featured her uncle’s name among the list of the fallen.

Eads described that event as powerful and emotional. And, while Saturday’s ceremony was not as grand in scale, “it was just as moving,” she said, noting how grateful she and other family members were for this honor, including her brother Ted Harrison from Las Vegas, who was named after his uncle and spoke on behalf of the family.

With Patriot Guard riders in attendance, students from West Chicago High School provided the music for the dedication; the family was given an Honor and Remember MIA flag; and speakers included state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, state Reps. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, and Maura Hirschauer, D-Batavia, and West Chicago Mayor Ruben Pineda.

“It was all just so personal to us,” said Eads, admitting there were plenty of tears during the ceremony.

For Patterson, whose 20-year-old son Christopher died fighting in Afghanistan in 2012, this roadside project is more than about honoring the fallen. Although he certainly knows the pain of losing a loved one to a war far away, unlike POW/MIA families, he and wife Mary were able to bring their son, a West Aurora High School graduate, home. Which is why he joined the Rolling Thunder group and why he’s worked so diligently with Springfield legislators to make these POW/MIA roadside dedications a reality.

“We are excited to finally be moving forward and giving these heroes the recognition they deserve, as well as letting families know their loved ones have not and will not be forgotten,” he told me, adding that the effort is also a reminder to our government “it needs to be doing everything possible to bring their remains home.”

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, more than 80,000 American service members remain missing after serving in World War II to the present, with an estimated 38,000 recoverable. The overall total includes more than 73,000 from World War II, 7,500 from the Korean War and around 1,600 from Vietnam.

In fiscal 2024, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, conducting nine missions in 46 countries, recovered the remains of 172 service members from past conflicts, an increase from the 158 identifications made the previous year, according to the agency’s website.

Inroads are being made, but there’s much work to be done, said Patterson, noting that the next scheduled road dedications will be for Thompson on July 26 and for Herreid on Sept. 20.

“When you see these signs, say their names,” he said.

dcrosby@tribpub.com