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News Release

Press Release | Jan. 20, 2016

Soldier Missing From Korean War Accounted For (Stuck)

The Department of 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. Kenneth R. Stuck, 20, of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, will be buried Jan. 30 in his hometown. On Nov. 1, 1950, Stuck was assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, when his unit was attacked by the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces in Unsan, North Korea. Stuck’s unit was part of a screening force defending a withdrawal route when enemy forces attacked. On Nov. 2, with little hope of rescue, Stuck’s unit attempted to escape and evade the enemy. Stuck was declared missing in action as a result of this attempt.

During the war, Stuck never appeared on any list of POWs held by North Korean, nor did any returning POWs have any knowledge of his fate. The Army subsequently declared Stuck deceased on Dec. 31, 1953.

Between 1990 and 1994, North Korea returned to the United States 208 boxes of commingled human remains, which when combined with remains recovered during joint recovery operations in North Korea, account for the remains of at least 600 U.S. servicemen who fought during the war. North Korean documents included in the repatriation indicated that some of the remains were recovered from the area where Stuck was believed to have died.

In the identification of Stuck’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, including mitochondrial DNA analysis, which matched a sister and brother, and Y-chromosome Short Tandem Repeat DNA analysis, which matched a brother.

Today, more than 7,800 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 by American recovery teams.

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 or call (703) 699-1420 or (571) 422-9060.