Press Release | Aug. 7, 2007

Soldier Missing In Action From The Korean War Is Identified (Bunchuk)

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 at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420.

Press Release | Aug. 1, 2007

Airmen Missing In Action From Vietnam War Are Identified (Ayres)

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are Lt. Col. James H. Ayres, of Pampa, Texas, and Lt. Col. Charles W. Stratton, of Dallas, Texas, both U.S. Air Force. Ayres will be buried Aug. 10 in Pampa, and Stratton’s burial date is being set by his family.

On Jan. 3, 1971, these men crewed an F-4E Phantom II aircraft departing Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base on a nighttime strike mission of enemy targets in Savannakhet Province, Laos. Shortly after Ayres initiated a target run, the crew of other aircraft in the flight observed a large explosion. No one witnessed an ejection or heard beeper signals, and communication was lost with the aircraft. Hostile activity in the area prevented search and rescue attempts.

In 2001, a joint U.S./Lao People’s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), traveled to Savannakhet Province and interviewed Laotian citizens about their knowledge of aircraft crash sites. One of the men led the team to what was believed to be the Ayres and Stratton crash site.

Later that year, another U.S./L.P.D.R team began excavating the site. The team recovered human remains and aircrew-related items. Between 2002 and 2005, joint teams visited the site six more times to complete the excavation, recovering more human remains and crew-related items.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA 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 at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.

Press Release | July 19, 2007

Soldiers Missing In Action From The Korean War Are Identified (Trent, Imrie, Wirrick)

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 at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420.

Press Release | July 10, 2007

Marine Missing In Action From Korean War Is Identified (Di Salvo)

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 Pfc. Domenico S. Di Salvo, U.S. Marine Corps, of Akron, Ohio. He will be buried July 12 in Seville, Ohio.

In late November 1950, Di Salvo was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 5th Regiment, of the 1st Marine Division then deployed near Yudam-ni on the western side of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. On Nov. 27, 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. Di Salvo was lost on Dec. 2, 1950 as a result of enemy action near Yudam-ni. He was among several in his company buried by fellow Marines in a temporary grave near the battlefield.

During Operation Glory in 1954, the North Korean government repatriated the remains of U.S. and allied soldiers. Included in this repatriation were sets of remains associated with Di Salvo’s burial. That year, U.S. officials identified five of these individuals. One repatriated individual could not be identified at that time and was buried as an unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (The Punchbowl) in Hawaii.

In November 2006, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) exhumed remains from the NMCP believed to be those of Di Salvo.

Among other forensic tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the JPAC used dental comparisons in Di Salvo’s identification.

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 | June 15, 2007

Air Forece Pilot Missing From Vietnam War Is Identified (Danielson)

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

He is Maj. Benjamin F. Danielson, U.S. Air Force, of Kenyon, Minn. He will be buried Saturday in Kenyon.

On Dec. 5, 1969, Danielson and his co-pilot, 1st Lt. Woodrow J. Bergeron, Jr., were on a strike mission over Khammouan Province, Laos, when their F-4C was struck by enemy ground fire. Both ejected from the aircraft with minor injuries, landing safely on opposite sides of the Nam Ngo River.

Both men evaded capture the first night and maintained radio contact with search and rescue personnel. Bergeron was rescued on the third day; however, enemy forces apparently located Danielson soon after light on the second day. Bergeron said that he heard enemy activity, including gun shots, near Danielson’s position and presumed that the enemy located and shot Danielson.

This was the largest search and rescue effort during the Vietnam War, involving 15 attempts before Bergeron was found. Each of these efforts was driven off by intense ground fire, which heavily damaged several aircraft and killed a door gunner on one of the rescue helicopters. Heavy enemy presence in the loss location prevented further efforts to locate Danielson.

Between 1993 and 2006, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) led seven joint and two unilateral investigations in Vietnam, four joint investigations in Laos, one trilateral investigation and one excavation. Team members found aircraft wreckage consistent with an F-4 at the crash site, but found no human remains or evidence of a burial along the river.

In 2003, Danielson’s identification tags, a survival knife, a portion of a survival vest and human remains were turned over to U.S. officials. They were said to be obtained from a Laotian source who found them while fishing along the banks of the Nam Ngo River.

Although an excavation conducted near the river in 2006 yielded no remains or evidence of a burial, JPAC used other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence in Danielson’s identification. Scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA to help identify the remains previously turned in by the Laotian source.

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