Sgt. Richard E. Crotty

Sergeant Richard Edward Crotty, of Peoria, IL, was killed in North Korean during the Korean War on September 1, 1950. On February 3, 2023, Sgt. Richard E. Crotty’s remains were identified and arrangements were initiated to repatriate him back to Illinois to be laid to rest next to his family.

SGT Crotty will be laid to rest in Peoria, IL on April 29, 2023, with a procession befitting a hero who gave his last full measure of devotion to his country.  A graveside service is scheduled for 12 noon Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Swan Lake Memory Gardens in Peoria with full Military Honors provided by the U.S. Army.  Mason-White Funeral Home in Washington, IL is assisting with arrangements. To send a condolence to the family of Sgt. Crotty, visit www.masonfuneralhomes.com.

Richard was born on April 16, 1928, in Geneva, IL and raised in Peoria, the son of Edward G. and Mabel Anderson Crotty. Surviving family members are Kimberly (Brian) Lauber of Conifer, CO; Tamara (Kenneth) Lane of Morton, IL; Kerry (Kathy) Baker of Galena, OH; and Chad (Marissa) Crotty of Evergreen, CO. and a host of extended family. In addition to his parents who have since passed he had two brothers and one sister who also have since passed.

In late 1950, Sgt. Crotty was a member of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. On 1 September 1950, Sgt. Crotty was reported missing in action after his unit was engaged by the Korean People’s Army near Yongsan, South Korea.

A set of remains was recovered near Yongsan, in July 1951. The remains were thought to be Sgt. Crotty and were designated X-1667 Tanggok and buried in the United Nations Cemetery Tanggok later that month. In March 1955, the Central Identification Unit Kokura in Japan began a reexamination of X-1667. They made several attempts between then and April 1955 before ultimately declaring the remains unidentifiable. X-1667 was later transported with all of the unidentified Korean War remains and buried as an Unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Sgt. Crotty’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

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