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News Release

Press Release | March 23, 2018

Funeral Announcement For Soldier Killed During The Korean War (Simon, P.)

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, recently accounted-for from the Korean War, are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Pete W. Simon, 34, of Grindstone, Pennsylvania, accounted for on Jan. 11, 2018, will be buried March 31 in Northfield, Ohio. In September 1950, Simon was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, participating in a defense of the Pusan Perimeter, a large defensive line west and north of Pusan, South Korea. Simon was reported to have been killed in action Sept. 5, 1950, but his remains were not located following the battle.

In May 1951, American Graves Registration Service personnel recovered three sets of remains after a villager notified them of remains near his village on Hill 762. The remains were sent to the Tanggok United Nations Military Cemetery. One set of remains, identified as Unknown X-1085 Tanggok, were later transferred to the Central Identification Unit-Kokura for possible identification. However, an identification could not be established and the remains were declared unidentifiable and interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

In October 2017, based on research and analysis, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-1085 from the Punchbowl and accessioned the remains to the laboratory for identification.

To identify Simon’s remains, scientists from DPAA used laboratory analysis, including anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, which matched his records, and material evidence.

DPAA is grateful to the South Korean government and the Department of Veterans Affairs for their assistance in this recovery.

Today, 7,709 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Simon’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Courts of the Missing at the NMCP, 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.