Press Release | May 30, 2014

Soldier Missing From Korean War Accounted For (Isbell)

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) 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.

Army Cpl. Richard Isbell, 20, of Fishtrap, Ky., will be buried June 7, in Staffordsville, Ky. In April 1951, Isbell was assigned to Company H, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Division (ID). While deployed near Popsudong, South Korea, the 7th ID was attacked by overwhelming Chinese forces, which caused Isbell’s unit to begin a fighting withdrawal to a more defensible position. During this battle on April 25, 1951, Isbell was reported missing in action. However, after the war, Isbell was reported by returning POWs as having been captured by Chinese forces and died in captivity from dysentery on June 30, 1951, in a prisoner of war camp known as Camp 5, in Pyoktong, North Korea.

In 1954, Chinese and North Korean Communist forces exchanged the remains of war dead with the United Nations forces during Operation Glory. In 1956, a military review board declared Isbell’s remains as unidentifiable. He was transferred to be buried as unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii, known as the “Punchbowl.”

In 2013, due to advances in forensic technology, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) determined that the possibility of identifying the remains was likely at that time. The unknown remains were disinterred for analysis and possible identification.

In the identification of Isbell’s remains, scientists from JPAC used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, such as dental comparisons and radiograph comparisons.

Today, 7,883 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously turned over by North Korean officials or recovered from North Korea by American teams.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans, who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

Press Release | May 19, 2014

Marine Missing From Korean War Accounted For (Reed)

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) 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.

Marine Cpl. Harold W. Reed, 23, of Rochester, N.Y., will be buried May 24 in Toledo, Ohio. In November 1950, Reed was assigned to Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, when his unit disengaged from the enemy and began a fighting withdrawal to a more defensible position south near the village of Hagaru-ri. On Nov. 29, 1950, Reed was killed in action from a missile wound while fighting on the western side of the Chosin Reservoir.

In 1954, United Nations and Communist Forces exchanged the remains of war dead in what came to be called “Operation Glory.” All remains recovered in Operation Glory were turned over to the Army Central Identification Unit for analysis. The remains they were unable to identify were interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii, known as the “Punchbowl.”

In 2013, analysts from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) reevaluated Reed’s records and determined that portions of the remains recovered from Operation Glory should be exhumed for identification.

To identify Reed’s remains, scientists from JPAC used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, such as radiograph comparison, which matched Reed’s records.

Today, 7,883 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously turned over by North Korean officials or recovered from North Korea by American teams.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans, who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

Press Release | April 15, 2014

Soldier Missing From WWII Accounted For (Carneal)

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing since World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Pfc. William T. Carneal, 24, of Paducah, Ky., will be buried on April 25, in his hometown. In mid June 1944, the 27th Infantry Division (ID) landed on Saipan as part of the Allied strategic goal of securing the Marina Islands. On July 7, 1944, enemy forces conducted an intense attack on the 27th ID, 105th Infantry Regiment (IR) position. During these attacks, elements of the 105th IR sustained heavy losses, killing and injuring more than 900 servicemen. As a result of these attacks, Carneal was reported killed in action.

On March 21, 2013, a Japanese nongovernmental organization worker uncovered human remains, personal effects, and military equipment while searching for Japanese soldiers on the northern coastline of Saipan Island. The remains and equipment located suggested that the burial site belonged to an American soldier. The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) was notified of the findings. On March 24, 2013, two anthropologists from JPAC excavated the site.

In the identification of Carneal, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, such as dental comparisons and mitochondrial DNA sequence data, which matched Carneal’s maternal-line grand-nieces.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died. Today, more than 73,000 are unaccounted for from the conflict.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

Press Release | April 8, 2014

Airman Missing From WWII Accounted For (Longman)

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, lost during World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Louis L. Longman, 26, of Clinton, Iowa, will be buried April 12, in Rock Island, Ill. On April 16, 1944, Longman was the pilot of a P-38J Lightning aircraft that departed Nadzab, New Guinea, as part of a bomber escort mission against enemy targets on the island. His aircraft never returned after the mission, a day that came to be known as “Black Sunday” due to the extensive loss of American lives. Due to the nature of the war and mission, search and recovery efforts were unsuccessful.

A Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) team was investigating sites in the mountains of Papua New Guinea in February 2005, when two villagers turned over human remains that they claimed to have recovered from a wartime crash near their village. The team was not able to survey the site at that time.

From 2007 to 2010, JPAC survey and excavation teams recovered additional remains and aircraft wreckage from the site.

To identify Longman’s remains, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools such as dental comparisons and mitochondrial DNA, which matched Longman’s niece.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died. There are more than 73,000 servicemen whose remains were never recovered. Since 2007, the Department of Defense has identified and laid to rest 190 service members who were unaccounted-for from World War II.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.