For information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, call (703) 699-1169 or visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo.
Recent updates are marked with an asterick*
March 26, 2008*
Harry J. Laurence
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is U.S. Army Sgt. Harry J. Laurence of Cleveland, Ohio. He will be buried April 9 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. Representatives from the Army met with Laurence’s next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
Laurence was a member of L Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, then making up the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 7th Infantry Division. The team was engaged against the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea from Nov. 27-Dec. 11, 1950. The unit was forced to retreat to the south due to intense enemy fire. Laurence was among many soldiers reported missing in action.
In 2001, joint U.S. and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted two excavations of a mass grave near the Chosin Reservoir. The site correlates closely with defensive positions held by the 31st RCT at the time of the Chinese attacks. The teams recovered remains believed to be those of 11 U.S. servicemen. Analysis of the remains subsequently led to the identifications of three individuals, including Laurence.
April 3, 2008*
Edward B. Scullion and Elwood D. Reynolds
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors. They are Capt. Edward B. Scullion of Norfolk, Va; and Pfc. Elwood D. Reynolds of Schoolfield, Va.; both U.S. Army. Reynolds will be buried April 18 in Danville, Va., and Scullion will be buried this summer in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. Representatives from the Army met with Scullion’s and Reynolds’ next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
Both men were members of A Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, then attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 7th Infantry Division. The team was engaged against the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea from Nov. 27-Dec. 1, 1950. Both soldiers died in late November as result of intense enemy fire, but their bodies were not recovered at the time.
Between 2002 and 2005, joint U.S. and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted excavations of three burial sites near the Chosin Reservoir. The sites correlate closely with defensive positions held by the 31st RCT at the time of the Chinese attacks. The teams recovered remains there believed to be those of several other U.S. servicemen. Analysis of the remains recovered from the sites led to the identification of 10 individuals, including Scullion and Reynolds.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and JPAC also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in both Scullion’s and Reynolds’ identification.
March 2008
Pfc. Billy M. MacLeod Identified
Pfc. Billy M. MacLeod, U.S. Army, of Cheboygan, Michigan was a member of Company B, 32nd Infantry Regiment, then making up part of the 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division, operating along the eastern banks of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.
Regimental records complied after the battle indicate that MacLeod was killed in action on November 28, 1950.
Back to TopRemains Identified as Sgt. Agostino Di Rienzo
November 20, 2007
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified. He is Sgt. Agostino Di Rienzo, U.S. Army, of East Boston, Mass.
Di Rienzo was assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division then occupying a defensive position near Unsan, North Korea in an area known as the “Camel’s Head.” On Nov. 1, 1950, parts of two Chinese Communist Forces divisions struck the 1st Cavalry Division’s lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. In the process, the 3rd Battalion was surrounded and effectively ceased to exist as a fighting unit. Di Rienzo was one of the more than 350 servicemen unaccounted-for from the battle at Unsan.
2002, a joint U.S.-Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a burial site south of Unsan near the nose of the “Camel’s Head” formed by the joining of the Nammyon and Kuryong rivers. The team recovered human remains.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
Back to TopMarine Missing from the Korean War is Identified
September 14, 2007
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Pfc. Carl A. West, U.S. Marine Corps, of Amanda Park, Washington. He will be buried Oct. 4 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
West was a member of Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Regiment, of the 1st Marine Division deployed near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. On Nov. 27, 1950, three Communist Chinese Divisions launched an attack on the Marine positions. Over the next several days, U.S. forces staged a fighting withdrawal to the south, first to Hagaru-ri, then Koto-ri, and eventually to defensive positions at Hungnam. West died on Dec. 8, 1950 as a result of enemy action near Koto-ri. He was buried by fellow Marines in a temporary United Nations military cemetery in Hungnam, which fell to the North Koreans in December 1950. His identity was later verified by the FBI from a fingerprint taken at the time of the burial.
During Operation Glory in 1954, the North Korean government repatriated the remains of 2,944 U.S. soldiers and Marines. Included in this repatriation were remains associated with West’s burial. The staff at the U.S. Army Mortuary in Kokura, Japan, however, cited suspected discrepancies between the dental remains and West’s dental file as well as discrepancies between the biological profile derived from the remains and West’s physical characteristics. The remains were among 416 subsequently buried as “unknowns” in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (The Punchbowl) in Hawaii.
In May 2006, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command exhumed remains from The Punchbowl believed to be those of West. Although the remains did not yield usable DNA data, a reevaluation of the skeletal and dental remains led to West’s identification.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site or call (703) 699-1169.
Back to TopSoldier Missing In Action from the Korean War is Identified
Aug. 7, 2007
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
He is Sgt. Frank Bunchuk, U.S. Army, of Medina, N.Y. He will be buried Thursday in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with Bunchuk’s next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
In November 1950, Bunchuk was assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division then occupying a defensive position southwest of Unsan, North Korea near a bend in the Kuryong River known as the Camel’s Head. On Nov. 1, parts of two Chinese Communist Divisions struck the 1st Cavalry Division’s lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. In the process, the 3rd Battalion was surrounded and effectively ceased to exist as a fighting unit. Bunchuk was one of the more than 350 servicemen unaccounted-for from the battle at Unsan.
In 2002, a joint U.S.-Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a burial site south of Unsan near the nose of the Camel’s Head formed by the joining of the Nammyon and Kuryong rivers. The team recovered human remains.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of Bunchuk’s remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site or call (703) 699-1420.
Back to TopSoldiers Missing In Action from the Korean War are Identified
July 19, 2007
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of three U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are Sgt. Donald C. Trent, of Crab Orchard, W. Va.; Cpl. Robert K. Imrie, of Randolph, Mass.; and Cpl. Samuel Wirrick of Lancaster, Pa.; all U.S. Army. Imrie will be buried Monday at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.; and Trent and Wirrick will be buried at Arlington in October.
Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men in their hometowns to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
In late November 1950, these soldiers were members of the 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, then operating south of the Chongchon River in North Korea. Their regiment’s positions came under heavy attack by Chinese forces and the 2nd Battalion was forced to withdraw to positions near the town of Kujang. On Nov. 27, Imrie was killed in action, and Trent and Wirrick were reported missing.
In 2000, a joint U.S.-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea-Korean People’s Army team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a mass burial believed to contain the remains of U.S. soldiers who died near Kujang. The team found human remains, Wirrick’s identification tag and other material evidence associated with U.S. Army infantry equipment.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site or call (703) 699-1420.
Back to TopSee information about the POWs/MIAs that were returned January - May 2007.
See information about the POWs/MIAs that were returned in 2006. Back to Top