REMAINS OF KOREAN WAR SOLDIER RETURN TO U. S.
The remains of an American soldier who died in combat during
the Korean War have been identified and returned to his family in
the United States. The name is not being released in respect to
family wishes.
The U. S. Army corporal will be buried in his hometown on
Saturday with full military honors. Remains were repatriated to
U. S. control on July 29 in a formal ceremony at the
demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.
In a historic joint operation with the North Koreans, the
remains were recovered near Unsan, North Korea, approximately 45
miles south of the Chinese border. The soldier had been buried
there following combat between U. S. and Chinese forces in
November 1950. His burial site was found after U. S.
investigators interviewed local officials and villagers who
directed the team to a site where they believed an American
soldier was buried. Found at the same burial site were his dog
tag, rations, as well as spent and unspent ammunition.
The joint operation was the result of months of negotiations
between the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and the Defense
Department's POW/MIA Office. The first round of negotiations led
by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense James W. Wold, began in
January 1996, but no agreement was reached. Several low-level
contacts in the next few months led both sides to schedule formal
negotiations in New York City in May. There, a formal agreement
was signed resolving past issues and agreeing to conduct two
joint recoveries in 1996. Later, follow-on technical discussions
in Pyongyang, North Korea, set up logistical agreements,
including the dates and sites, for the two operations.
Identification of the soldier was made by the U. S. Army's
Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii, where the remains were
flown from Korea. Among the forensic procedures used at the
CILHI were comparisons between the remains and dental charts from
medical records.
An honor guard from his parent unit during the Korean War
will provide escort for the burial.
