WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Cpl. Henry L. Phillips, 18, of Giles, Tennessee, who was captured and died in captivity during the Korean War, was accounted for Sept. 17, 2019.
(This identification was initially published Sept. 19, 2019.)
In late 1950, Phillips was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action Nov. 28, 1950, in the vicinity of Anju, North Korea, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces. Following the war, returning American prisoners of war reported that Phillips had been captured and died at Prisoner of War Camp #5, on March 17, 1951.
In September 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea returned remains reportedly recovered from Pyoktong, also known as Prisoner of War Camp 5, to the United Nations Command. One set of remains, Unknown X-13491, could not be identified and was buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
On June 11, 2018, the Department of Defense disinterred Unknown X-13491 and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Phillips’ remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of the Army for their partnership in this mission.
Today, 7,607 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by Korean officials, recovered from Korea by American recovery teams or disinterred from unknown graves. Phillips’ name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the 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 information, contact the Army Casualty office at (800) 892-2490.
The time and place for Phillips’ burial has yet to be determined. For future funeral information, visit www.dpaa.mil.
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.
Phillips’ personnel profile can be viewed at
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000BidgMEAR