Remains believed to be those of Marine
killed in Korean War sent to Hawaii
By Jeremy Kirk, Seoul bureau
chief
Andy Dunaway / Stars and Stripes
United Nations Command Honor Guard members prepare to carry the remains of an unknown U.S.
servicemember into a hearse at Yongsan Garrison, Seoul Korea. |
YONGSAN GARRISON — The remains believed to be those of a U.S. Marine uncovered by
last week’s heavy rains were given an honor guard salute Friday before being sent to
Hawaii for identification.
A farmer saw a boot sticking out of the ground Monday near Taean, a small city about
156 miles southeast of Seoul, said Marine Maj. Tim Callahan, operations chief for the
Military Armistice Commission of the U.N. Command.
The South Korean Army was notified, and mortuary affairs officials from Yongsan
Garrison recovered the remains, he said.
A set of dog tags and parts of a parachute also were recovered, he said. The dog tags
were matched to an aircraft that went down in the last months of the Korean War in 1953.
About 8,100 servicemembers are missing from the Korean War, and 5,500 are believed to
be in North Korea. This year, the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii will conduct
10 operations in North Korea, venturing for the first time into the Chosin Reservoir. Many
U.S. servicemembers died at the reservoir during bitter fighting in the winter of 1950-51.
The center uses mitochondrial DNA testing in addition to months of extensive research
to make an identification. The mtDNA is passed to people by a person’s mother and can
be shared by maternal relatives.
Members of the U.N. Command Honor Guard fired a 21-gun salute, and the silver-colored
metal box — covered with a U.N. flag — was loaded into a white hearse.
About 33,000 U.S. servicemembers died in the 1950-53 war.
"Like so many others, he dedicated himself to liberty," said Marine Brig.
Gen. Timothy E. Donovan, assistant chief of staff of the U.N. Command, during the
ceremony. "This servicemember may now continue his journey home."
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