GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — Jose Leonardo Archuleta was declared M.I.A. on August 11^th, 1950 and now well into 2022, his family is still waiting to find his remains.

“To this day his remains have never been found,” said Sally Duran, the sister of Jose L. Archuleta. Duran was a little girl when her brother shipped off to Korea.

Fighting in Korea Archuleta showed his bravery; he defied orders to retreat to go back and attempt to rescue his own commanding officer. Under heavy fire, he took out five enemy combatants, then tried to carry the injured officer across the river. That was the last that was seen of him. Archuleta was one of 14 men on the mission and only four returned.

“He got this citation for the silver star for gallantry in action,” said Duran. That’s not all, he also received the purple heart and a slew of other accolades.

“My mother used to cry a lot for him and she was always hopeful,” said Duran, “she always waited for him to come home and now I want to do this for her.”

Jose Leonardo Archuleta is being honored on September 9^th at the Grand Junction Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery. One day before what would have been his 93^rd birthday.