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News Release

Press Release | Sept. 12, 2011

Soldier Missing From Korean War Identified (Henry)

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 Sgt. Lee D. Henry, Jr., 22, of Tyler, Texas, will be buried Sept. 17 in his hometown. In August 1950, Henry died near Haman, South Korea. In early 1951, the remains of an unknown soldier were exhumed from the 25th Infantry Division Cemetery in Masan, South Korea. The remains had initially been interred on Aug. 18, 1950, but available documentation didn’t identify the individual or indicate where the remains were originally found. The exhumed remains were analyzed in Kokura, Japan, four men—including Henry—were possible candidates but couldn’t be identified given the technology of the time. The remains were buried as unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

In 2010, scientists at Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) concluded they had evidence that supported identification of the unknown soldier. The remains were exhumed in March 2011 for analysis using modern technology.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command used dental comparisons in the identification of Henry’s remains.

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.