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News Release

Press Release | June 1, 2011

U.S. Soldier MIA From Korean War Identified (Moore)

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 returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Cpl. Harold B. Moore, 19, of Wood County, W.Va., will be buried June 2 at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. On Nov. 1, 1950, Moore’s unit, the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, occupied a defensive position along the Kuryong River, near Unsan, North Korea. Chinese units attacked the area and forced a withdrawal. Almost 600 men, including Moore, were reported missing or killed in action following the battle.

In 2001, a joint U.S-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), excavated a common grave discovered in Unsan County, south of the area known as “Camel’s Head.” The team recovered remains of two individuals as well as military equipment.

Analysts from DPMO and JPAC developed case leads with information spanning more than 58 years. They evaluated the circumstances surrounding the soldier’s death and researched wartime documentation on the movements of U.S. and enemy forces on the battlefield.

Among forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC used dental comparisons and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA comparisons in the identification.

With this identification, 7,993 service members still remain missing from the conflict.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1420.