The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, killed during the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Pfc. Charles C. Follese, 20, of Minneapolis, will be buried July 25 in his hometown. On Nov. 29, 1950, Follese was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment. Follese was killed during a mission to recover casualties from a reconnaissance patrol that had been ambushed the previous day near Hajoyang-ni, North Korea. This patrol was also ambushed, following the battle, Follese could not be accounted for and he was declared killed in action on Nov. 30, 1950.
Between 1990 and 1994, North Korea returned 208 boxes of commingled human remains to the United States, which we determined to contain the remains of at least 400 U.S. servicemen who fought during the war. North Korean documents included in the repatriation indicate that some of the remains were recovered from the vicinity where Follese was believed to have died.
To identify Follese’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA),Y chromosome (Y-STR) and autosomal (auSTR) DNA analysis, which matched his family members; as well as dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records; and circumstantial evidence.
Today, 7,740 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using advances in technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously turned over by North Korean officials or recovered by American 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, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420.