Honoring ‘Tio Beto’: Elgin street named for Korean War soldier missing for years
For decades, Gloria Valle’s uncle, U.S. Army Cpl. Eriverto Ortiz, was lost.
Now, she just needs to look out the window to be close to “Tio Beto,” who was listed as missing in action after he was killed fighting in the Korean War 75 years ago.
Well-wishers from Elgin and as far away as Georgia gathered Saturday outside Valle’s home to watch her street, Alice Court, receive the honorary name of “CPL Eriverto Ortiz Court.”
“I’m so grateful,” Valle said. “It’s been a blessing — what everybody has done for my uncle, so many people got involved.”
The handsome young Texan known for his sense of humor died at the age of 27 on Sept. 22, 1950, during an intense battle to gain control of territory in South Korea.
His remains were recovered in 1951 but not known until a U.S. Department of Defense effort to account for missing soldiers using dental records and DNA technology made a positive identification on Aug. 10, 2023.
Ortiz, who served in the 27th Infantry Regiment, was given full military honors at a burial at Bluff City Cemetery in Elgin last year.
Until then, family members who lived in Texas but moved to Elgin in the late 1950s grieved for Ortiz with no closure, Valle recalled.
“My mom and my grandma and my aunts, they left this world and they never heard from him. And now, everything is here and I’m pretty sure they’re watching from heaven.
“Every time I leave my house or open the window I can see his name,” she said.
Ortiz’ great-niece Cynthia Arce and husband Juan Arce traveled from Bethlehem, Georgia, for the street naming.
“I’m very emotional … it’s well deserved. I feel honored,” Cynthia Arce said.
Members of Elgin American Legion Post 57, Rolling Thunder Chapter 2 Illinois, and Elgin fire and police departments honored Ortiz during a brief ceremony.
The new designation “is a fitting honor for someone who gave all when asked by his country to serve in the military,” Post 57 Cmdr. Dennis Beach said.
Along with relatives and friends, neighbors and members of the Elgin community joined in the tribute.
Among them was Elgin City Council Member Rose Martinez, a former U.S. Army sergeant.
“I want to cry … because he was almost forgotten,” Martinez said. “They thought he was gone, so it’s important for us as a community to talk about him, this is something we need to talk about to keep it alive.”