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News Release

Press Release | July 28, 2017

Soldier Captured During The Korean War Accounted For (Seadore)

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) 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 J. Seadore, 21, of Long Pine, Nebraska, will be buried August 4 in his hometown. In December 1950, Seadore was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, when all units of the United Nations Command were moving south after units of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) staged mass attacks during their Second Phase Offensive. On Dec. 14, the Regiment sent out a reconnaissance patrol. While Seadore’s company did not participate in the patrol, they remained in defensive positions north of Uijong-bu, South Korea. The CPVF attacked and penetrated the company’s defensive line. As the unit prepared to move the following day, Seadore could not be located.



A list provided by the CPVF and Korean People’s Army (KPA) contained names of American prisoners of war who were released, escaped, were in custody, or who had died while in custody, reported Seadore had died. A returning American prisoner of war provided information stating that Seadore had been captured and died in April 1951 at the “Bean Camp” prisoner of war camp. The U.S. Army declared him deceased as of April 18, 1951.



Between 1990 and 1994, North Korea returned to the United States 208 boxes of commingled human remains, which were determined to contain the remains of at least 400 U.S. servicemen who fought during the war. Remains that were handed over on May 28, 1992 were reportedly recovered from Namjong-gu, Suan County, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea. The village is believed to be the location of the Suan “Bean Camp.” The remains were sent to the Central Identification Laboratory (now DPAA) on May 29, 1992 for identification. Additional remains, in conjunction with remains found during a Joint Recovery Operation in 1999 and 2000, were consolidated on the basis of shared mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA.



To identify Seadore’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mtDNA, Y-chromosome and autosomal DNA analysis, which matched his family members, as well as dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records, and circumstantial evidence.



Today, 7,740 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by North Korean officials or recovered from North Korea by American recovery teams. Seadore’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at an American Battle Monuments Commission site along with the others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.



For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420.