The remains of Army Pfc. Herschel M. Riggs were finally laid to rest at the Catholic Cemetery East in Pearsall on Saturday, May 25. The burial followed the Funeral Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Pearsall, for the Rio Grande City soldier.
Family members and Patriot Guard Riders welcomed Riggs home last Wednesday, upon arriving at San Antonio International Airport. They then made their way to Hurley Funeral Home in Pleasanton, escorted by the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office and Pleasanton Police Department.
In July 1950, Riggs was an infantryman with Headquarters Company, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, involved in combat actions against North Korean forces near Taejon, South Korea. He was declared missing in action on July 16, 1950, when he could not be accounted for by his unit. He was declared deceased on July 31, 1953.
At Riggs’ funeral, it was noted that this young man just starting his life, sacrificed his life for the mission of his country.
Lt. General (Retired) Ricardo Sanchez spoke at Saturday’s funeral. He was born and raised in Rio Grande City, and also served in the 24th Infantry Division during Desert Storm, years later.
Riggs was born in 1931 and graduated from Rio Grande City High School in 1949.
Like many young men in Starr County, said Sanchez,
Riggs immediately enlisted in the Army.
“Positive identification was difficult and many unidentified warriors were laid to rest at the National Memorial of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. Herschel was among those warriors. We say that Herschel was missing in action for 69 years before we identified him and brought him home, but I believe that there is comfort in knowing that he was not alone. As Shakespeare says, ‘Those who shed their blood with me this day shall be my brother.’ Herschel was in Honolulu, Hawaii in the National Memorial of the Pacific with his blood brothers that had died with him in Korea. He rested in hallowed ground among those warriors and we finally have brought him home.”
Riggs joined the military in July of 1949.
“As he said farewell, I am sure he questioned whether he would ever see his family again,” Sanchez said.
Riggs and the other men embraced the warrior ethic, not wanting to die, but willing to die. He was killed in action exactly one year to the day that he enlisted in the Army and was only 18.
Sanchez then recognized a gentleman at the church service, Sgt. Major (Retired) Daniel Cretaro who also served in the 24th Infantry Division and was on the ground in Korea, during those battles.
An official award presentation followed, with Sanchez handing the Purple Heart to Riggs’ nephew, Marvin Saenz of Pleasanton, for wounds Riggs received in action resulting in his death on July 16, 1950.
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