WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Paul E. Hoots, 25, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Nov. 15, 2024.
In July 1950, Hoots was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He went missing in action after his unit engaged in intensive combat actions in the vicinity of Ch’onan, South Korea, on July 7. At the time, the circumstances for his loss were not immediately recorded, and there was never any evidence that he was a prisoner of war. The Army issued a finding of Missing In Action on July 8, 1950.
In 1952, the American Graves Registration Service Group (AGRSG), the unit tasked with finding and identifying those missing during the war, searched the area where Hoots went missing and was unable to locate remains that could be identified as him. The Army issued a presumptive finding of death for Hoots on Dec. 31, 1953.
This is an initial ID Announcement. The complete accounting of Hoots’ case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.
To see the most up-to-date statistics on DPAA recovery efforts for those unaccounted for from the Korean War, go to the Korean War Accounting page on the DPAA website at: https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaFamWebKorean.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving their country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, https://www.linkedin.com/company/dodpaa,
https://www.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.
Hoots’ personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000lj49MEAQ.