The recovery and identification of remains of missing
servicemen from the Korean and Cold War is the single most
important issue to many surviving families. When hostilities
ended in July, 1953, 8177 men were still unaccounted for from the
Korean War. During Operation Glory, shortly after the cease
fire agreement, 865 remains were returned but were deemed
unidentifiable and interred in a specific section of the National Memorial of the Pacific
Cemetery (Punchbowl), Hawaii, as unknowns. Beginning in 1986, remains
alleged to be those of missing American servicemen from the Korean War were
located in South Korea and repatriated to the Central Identification
Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI). In 1990, North Korea
began to return remains alleged to be missing American servicemen.
To date, of 224 remains returned in 1986 and 1990, only 5 individuals have been indentified.
There are numerous factors contributing to the difficulty
in identifying the 224 remains currently stored at CILHI. Remains returned by North Korea were
unilaterally exhumed. The North Koreans lacked experience and technology in recovery technique,
resulting in damage and commingling of remains. This, combined with mismatch of identification
media (such as dog tags, Armed Forces identification cards, etc.), makes the prospect of identifying
remains very challenging. CILHI reports they are currently looking into these problems as remains continue to
undergo analysis. As a result of the advancement of technology and the family outreach program, discussions are now
underway regarding the possible exhumation of some of the unknown remains at the Punchbowl for
identification.
In 1994, Kim Il Sung, the late President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK),
unexpectedly committed to the proposed formation of joint U.S.-DPRK Remains Recovery Teams.
However, it was May 1996, before the U.S. and DPRK reached an agreement on accounting for
American remains. Terms of the agreement included a.) an expression of appreciation on behalf
of the U.S. to DPRK for its past efforts in recovering and returning remains of U.S. servicemen; b.) payment
of $2 million for expenses incurred by DPRK associated with these efforts (the $2 million would not serve as a precedent for
future compensation); c.) a working level meeting to be held in June, 1996 with the goal of
planning two joint recovery operations in 1996; and d.) an agreement which would contribute to the improvement of
U.S. and DPRK relations.
As a result of this agreement, one set of remains recovered during a joint operation
in the northwest part of North Korea was returned. Within 60 days, the returned remains were identified, turned over to the family
and buried with full military honors. Unfortunately, a second joint recovery effort scheduled for September 1996 was canceled due to
tensions surrounding the infiltration of a North Korean submarine into unauthorized waters.
Agreements reached for the year 1997
between the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) and DPRK
resulted in three joint recovery operations in 1997, and an archival search at the Fatherland
Liberation War Museum in Pyongyang. Six sets of remains were recovered, believed to be U.S. solders
unaccounted for since November 1950. The unprecedented archival research may lead to information on the fate
of American servicemen still missing from the Korean War. In August 1997, DPRK allowed DPMO to examine
servicemen's identification media (dog tags, etc.), captured aircraft, vehicles, and photographs of
captured American solders. DPMO is still analyzing the data retrieved.
There have been five joint recovery operations conducted during 1998 in North Korea.
The first four operations resulted in the repatriation of 13 sets, alleged to be U.S. remains.
During the fifth joint recovery operation a delegation of veterans and family representatives, including Coalition
Vice President Gerri Montgomery Prescott, observed recovery efforts in the vicinity of Kujang-do near the Cho'ong-Ch'on River,
approximately 100 miles north of Pyongyang. The day the delegation visited the site, three sets of remains were recovered.
The fifth operation has now concluded with a total of nine remains recovered, the largest number of remains from a single operation
to date. Several of the remains were believed to come from the 25th Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division, which
was made up of black soldiers, according to Mr. Robert L. Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for
POW/Missing Personnel Affairs. All remains recovered during joint operations were taken to CILHI for
detailed examination by forensic specialists.
In March of 1992, the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs was established to serve
as a forum through which both nations seek to determine the fate of their missing servicemen.
The Joint Commission, which was organized into four working groups, encompasses WWII, the Korean War, the
Vietnam War and the Cold War. The Cold War group has focused on American aircraft lost during the Cold War period, which lasted from
1949-1990. To date, remains of 18 American servicemen associated with Cold War shoot downs (aircraft destroyed)
have been located, recovered and identified. More than 120 servicemen still remain unaccounted for from the Cold War.
The Joint Commission's stated objectives are to determine whether American servicemen are/were held against their will within the
territory of the former Soviet Union, and if so, secure their immediate release and repatriation; locate and return U.S. remains
of any deceased American servicemen in the former Soviet Union; and to ascertain the facts regarding
American servicemen who were not repatriated and whose fate remains unresolved. Despite recent instability within some states of the
former Soviet Union, the Commission is currently conducting archival research and having discussions with government officials and private citizens, seeking
information about the fate of still unaccounted for American servicemen.
|
|
Identification of Remains
|
The Department of Defense (DOD) currently uses identification and investigative techniques that detail skeletal features
(anthropologic), dental features (odontologic), and fingerprints, as the primary means of establishing positive identification.
Because of the violence of modern warfare, traditional methods may not be sufficient for positive identification.
In these cases, DNA typing may be helpful in identifying American remains. The DOD incorporates two types of DNA in their
identification program; "Nuclear Deozyribonucleic Acid" (nucDNA) and "Mitochondrial DNA"(mtDNA).
Because there is a degradation factor in older remains like those from the Korean and Cold Wars, and the war in Southeast Asia, mtDNA typing may be a
useful investigative tool in making a positive identification.
MtDNA is a molecule found in the composition of the human cell. The mother transfers it generation to generation to her
offspring. The father receives his MtDNA from his mother, but cannot pass it on to his children. The egg of the mother is the source by
which a person receives mtDNA. When the cells divide, the process passes the mtDNA to the new cell thus becoming part of each cell in the body.
Family members might originate from the same mother, but they do not necessarily have the same mtDNA. Scientists hypothesize that there are several
hundred thousand different variants of mtDNA. Because there are more people in the world than different variants of mtDNA, mtDNA alone will not provide
positive identification. It is, however, an extremely valuable aid in supporting the identification process.
MtDNA is extracted from bones or
teeth which have been recovered. Scientists first pulverize two grams of bone and place it in a chemical solution to release the mtDNA from the cells.
Initially, the extracted amount of mtDNA is too small to analyze for typing, therefore, a particular region of the mtDNA is replicated many millions of
times through a special chemical process. Through amplification of the portion of mtDNA taken, a sequence can be determined and compared to a family
sequence which either excludes it or provides supportive evidence that it belongs to a particular family. Recently, mummified remains found in an
Egyptian pyramid were positively identified, by applying mtDNA technology, as the son of a Pharaoh who lived
and ruled before the birth of Christ.
MtDNA may be but one step in the identification process. DOD attempts to make identifications by using different types of presumptive evidence. In the search for
presumptive evidence, the identification process often begins by looking at operational reports that help to identify or correlate remains. Comparing the
remains against loss incidents from the general location and time frame provides investigative leads. The use of anthropological means to determine race, age, and
height further narrows the investigative process. Other factors that help narrow the search include equipment found at the recovery site and comparison of anthropological evidence against
medical and dental records of servicemen who fit into a general loss profile.
If a recovery team is investigating a battle site where a large number of ground losses occurred, there often may be lost records or commingling of remains from different units. Many Korean War losses involve large
groups of commingled remains from different units with little presumptive evidence available to sort the remains. MtDNA can be very useful in grouping the remains
into smaller more manageable numbers.
The assistance of families is critical if mtDNA is be to used in this manner.
Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) scientists require a family database that includes a mtDNA sample for each of the unaccounted for servicemen to
use in making comparisons between remains that have no other presumptive evidence. AFDIL will use the database to compare mtDNA sequencing to
exclude or help to identify a returned remain.
It has been more than forty-five years since hostilities in Korea ended. The Service Casualty Offices have lost touch
with many of the families. They and DPMO have begun a "Family Outreach" program to locate the relatives of servicemen unaccounted for
from the Korean and Cold Wars. When families are located, an attempt to obtain a blood sample is made.
The blood samples collected are used to establish a comprehensive family database. The "Family Outreach" program is the direct result of hard work of members of
the Coalition of Families and others to obtain a policy for the use of mtDNA technology on remains of Korean War missing. Previously, the database and outreach program was
available only to families of missing servicemen from the war in Southeast Asia, and were not available as an identification tool applied to recovered remains of Korean
War missing.
Each family member is urged to contact the appropriate Service Casualty Office
to provide information relative to their missing loved one and to give a
DNA reference sample. Registration with the casualty offices makes
contacting you easier if the remains of your missing serviceman are located
and identified.
|
Coalition Headquarters:
P.O. Box 7152
Roanoke, Virginia 24019-0152
E-mail:
info@coalitionoffamilies.org
|
|