The Graybeards - Korean War Veterans Association

Defense POW/MIA Weekly Update
KOREAN WAR/COLD WAR
DOCUMENT FAMILY RESEARCH
July 25, 2000
North Korea
Repatriates 12
Sets of Remains
The remains
believed to be those of
12 American soldiers
missing since 1950
were returned to the United States July 22.
A joint U.S.-North Korean team found
the remains about 60 miles north of the
capital of Pyongyang. The area was the
scene of fierce fighting between U.S. and
Chinese forces in November 1950.
Bob Jones, deputy assistant secretary
of defense for POW/MIA Affairs, said he
was extremely pleased with the results of
the joint effort.
“These are very emotional affairs,”
Jones said during an interview. “We are
welcoming back to American soil individuals
who have been standing in the
defense of their country for over 50 years.
They have been lost and we are beginning
the process to return them to their loved
ones.”
The remains are believed to be those of
men who fought with the 1st Cavalry
Division, the 2nd Infantry Division and
the 25th Infantry Division. This brings the
total to 54 sets of remains repatriated from
North Korea since the effort started in
1996, said Larry Greer, a spokesman for
the POW/MIA office. Five sets of remains
have been identified and 10 others are in
the final stages of identification, DoD
officials said.
“Chances of identifying virtually every
one we find are pretty good,” Greer said.
“If, however, we need to use mitochondrial
DNA (to identify remains) and cannot
find a family link to a GI, it may make
identifications more difficult.”
But the remains from North Korea help
the identification process, said lab officials.
Most of those missing from Korea
are ground losses. U.S. officials interviewed
former prisoners of war and,
sometimes, the soldiers who “buried their
buddies in a battlefield situation,” Greer
said. This enabled the recovery teams to
pinpoint the locations to an extent.
The soil conditions in North Korea also
preserve the remains, lab officials said.
They said that in many cases forensic
researchers are working with complete
skeletons.
Another recovery team has moved into
North Korea to begin searching for other
sets of remains in the same general area,
Greer said. They will leave the country
Aug. 19.
More than 8,100 service members are
listed as missing from the Korean War.
Most of those were lost in the North.
Jones said the patient negotiations with
North Korea are starting to pay off. In
addition to the team already in North
Korea, four more teams are due to go in
this year.
“This is also a solid demonstration of
our nation’s commitment to those young
men and women in today’s armed force,
that this nation is committed to ensure —
no matter what the circumstances — that
we will do everything we can conceivably
do to return them home,” Jones said.
August 17, 2000
Remains of U.S. Servicemen
recovered in North Korea
Remains believed to be those of 14
American servicemen, missing in action
from the Korean War, will be repatriated
Saturday, Aug. 19, Korea time.
The remains will be flown on a U.S.
Air Force aircraft from Pyongyang, North
Korea, to Yokota Air Base, Japan, under
escort of a uniformed U.S. honor guard.
A United Nations Command repatriation
ceremony will be held at Yokota. The
following week the remains will be flown
to Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.
Following a U.S. Pacific Command ceremony
there, the remains will be transferred
to the U.S. Army Central
Identification Laboratory (CILHI) for
forensic examination and positive identification.
A joint U.S.-North Korean investigation
team recovered the remains, the
largest number recovered during a single
operation to date. The 20-person U.S.
team is composed primarily of specialists
from CILHI.
This recovery operation is the 14th in
North Korea since 1996. Three more are
scheduled for this year, with the fifth
operation scheduled to conclude on
Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2000. Joint U.S. -
North Korean teams have recovered 26
sets of remains so far this year, surpassing
the total in any single, full year of operations.
Of the 88,000 U.S. service members
missing in action from all conflicts, more
than 8,100 are from the Korean War.
September 14, 2000
Remains of U.S. Servicemen
recovered in North Korea
Remains believed to be those of nine
Americans missing in action will be repatriated
Friday, Sept. 15, during National
POW/MIA Recognition Day. In a formal
ceremony at Pyongyang, North Korea,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for
POW/Missing Personnel Affairs Robert
L. Jones will receive the remains, believed
to be those of U.S. servicemen missing in
action from the Korean War.
The remains will be flown on a U.S.
Air Force aircraft from Pyongyang to
Yokota Air Base, Japan, escorted by Jones
and a uniformed U.S. honor guard. A
United Nations Command (UNC) repatriation
ceremony will be held in Yokota,
then the remains will be flown to Hickam
Air Force Base, Hawaii. Following a U.S.
Pacific Command ceremony there, they
will be transferred to the U.S. Army
Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii
(CILHI) for forensic examination and
positive identification.
A joint U.S.-North Korean investigation
team recovered the remains from former
battlefields in the North Korean counties
of Unsan and Kujang, approximately
60 miles north of Pyongyang. The 20-person
U.S. team is composed primarily of
specialists from CILHI.
This recovery operation is the 15th in
North Korea since 1996. Two more are
scheduled for this year. Joint U.S. - North
Korean teams have recovered 35 sets of
remains so far this year, and 77 since the
joint operations began.
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