The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the
remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and
will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Pfc. George A. Porter, 21, of Philadelphia, will be buried Jan. 27, in Somerton, Pa.
On Feb. 11, 1950, Porter and the Battery B, 15th Field Artillery Battalion were supporting South
Korean forces in a major offensive near Hoengsong, South Korea when Chinese forces attacked
in what became known as the “Hoengsong Massacre.” Porter and more than 100 men were taken
as prisoners. Following the war, Porter’s remains were not accounted for.
Between 1991 and 1994, North Korea gave the United States 208 boxes of remains
believed to contain the remains of 200-400 U.S. servicemen. North Korean documents, turned
over with some of the boxes, indicated that some of the human remains were recovered in Suan
County, which had been the location of the Suan Mining and Bean camps, where Porter was
believed to have been held. A metal identification tag bearing Porter’s name was included among
the remains.
Scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Armed Forces DNA
Identification Laboratory used forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, as well as
mitochondrial DNA – which matched that of Porter’s sister and nephew – in the identification of
the remains.
Today, more than 7,900 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the Korean War.
Identifications continue to be made from the remains that were returned to the United States,
using forensic and DNA technology.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing
Americans, visit the DPMO web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.