Soldiers missing from Chosin Reservoir, Bataan returned home

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

2 2 minutes read

More than a dozen Americans who fought and died on Bataan during World War II and in Korea's Chosin Reservoir have been identified in recent months by a specialized military laboratory in Nebraska. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Monday that it had identified, or “surveyed,” the remains of 16 soldiers this spring, most from one of these two famous battles.

Scientists and historians at DPAA, based at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, have spent decades matching body fragments recovered from ancient battlefields with the names of long-missing U.S. service members. fight.

“We just weren't able to post them on our website until yesterday,” said Sean Everette, DPAA media relations manager. “I know it seems like it was 4 p.m. all at once, but their real IDs and family notifications were scattered.”

Of those announced Monday, most died as prisoners of war. The group includes seven Army and Air Force soldiers captured in the Philippines and imprisoned in Bataan. Japanese guards forced American and Filipino servicemen to march in groups of 100 down the only paved road on the Bataan Peninsula at the time. Four Japanese guards were assigned to each group and forced the POWs to march north toward Camp O'Donnell in Tarlac Province, 65 miles away. Approximately 12,000 Americans and 63,000 Filipinos died as prisoners of war on the island, although exact numbers remain unknown.

The remaining nine fought a decade later in Korea, three of whom died in prison camps, three others at Chosin Reservoir, and the other three in other combat.

Subscribe to Task and Goal Today. Get the latest military news and culture delivered to your inbox daily.

Each service member depicted follows DPAA and partner companies working together to identify POW/MIA service members through DNA matching, forensic analysis, dental records analysis, and, if available, radioisotope testing.

DPAA's mission is to account to their families and the nation for as many U.S. service members as possible who went missing from past conflicts. Their mission takes their research and archeology teams to hundreds of countries and municipalities around the world.

More than 81,500 Americans are missing from past conflicts, including more than 41,000 lost at sea to Navy ships, Air Force aircraft or other maritime accidents.

Regardless, 16 families have been informed that their long-lost loved ones have been found.

World War II veterans represented: