WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Cpl. John G. Krebs, 19, of Sterling, Illinois, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for on Dec. 17, 2018.
(This identification was initially announced on Dec. 20, 2018.)
On July 11, 1950, Krebs was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, engaged in combat operations against the North Korean People’s Army south of Chonui, South Korea, when he was declared missing in action.
In February 1951, the American Graves Registration Services recovered five sets of remains from northwest of Chonui in the village of Kujong-ni. Two sets of remains were identified; the other three were unidentifiable and designated as Unknowns and buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, known as the Punchbowl.
In December 1953, Krebs was declared deceased.
In September 2018, Unknown X-491 Tanggok was disinterred from the Punchbowl and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Krebs’ remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, as well as and circumstantial and material evidence.
DPAA is grateful to Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.
Today, 7,663 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 from North Korea by American recovery teams. Krebs’ name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
For family contact information, contact the Army Service Casualty office at (800) 892-2490.
Krebs will be buried May 17, 2019, in his hometown.
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) 699-1420/1169.
Krebs’ personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000x892cEAA