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Soldiers Missing in Action from the Korean War Are Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced
today that the remains of eight U.S. servicemen, missing in action from
the Korean War, have been identified and returned to their families for
burial with full military honors.
They are Master Sgt.
Alfred H. Alonzo Sr., of Tampa, Fla.; Sgt. 1st Class Robert C. Bucheit,
of Hamilton, Ohio; Sgt. Francis E. Lindsay, of Esther, Mo.; Cpl. Joseph
Gregori, of West Pittston, Pa.; Cpl. Darrell W. Scarbrough, of
Fayetteville, W.Va.; Cpl. Homer L. Sisk Jr., of Ducor, Calif.; Cpl.
Charles E. Sizemore, of Rushville, Ind.; and Cpl. William E. Wood, of
Moorhead, Minn.; all U.S. Army. Gregori was buried in August; Bucheit
was buried in September; Scarbrough, Sisk and Sizemore were buried in
October; Alonzo was buried in November; and Lindsay and Wood’s burial
dates are being set by their families.
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.
The soldiers were
assigned to the U.S. 8th Cavalry Regiment and attached units (1st
Cavalry Division), when their unit came under attack by Chinese forces
near Unsan, North Korea on the night of Nov. 1-2, 1950. During the
battle, these eight and nearly 400 others from the 8th Cavalry Regiment
were declared missing or killed in action.
In 2000, a joint U.S. and
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA
Accounting Command (JPAC), interviewed a farmer living in the vicinity
of Unsan who told the team that while doing land reclamation work, he
uncovered remains he believed were those of U.S. soldiers.
The team excavated the
burial site and uncovered the remains of at least 10 different
individuals. They also recovered other items and identification tags
belonging to these eight men.
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. Some of the remains could not be identified and will be held
for further research and analysis.
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