WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. Thomas J. O’Brien, 23, of Tipperary, Ireland, who died as a prisoner of war during the Korean War, was accounted for Sept. 27, 2024.
O’Brien’s family recently received their full briefing on is identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared
In late 1950, O’Brien was a member of Headquarters Battery, 90th Field Artillery Battalion, Division Artillery, 25th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action by tank fire on Oct. 26, 1950, after his unit was attacked by Korean People’s Army (KPA) forces while moving through the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). Following the end of hostilities, there was no information to suggest O’Brien was being held as a prisoner of war, and there was no body recovered.
In the late summer and fall of 1954, during Operation GLORY, North Korea returned remains reportedly recovered from various gravesites to the United Nations Command. One set of remains, designated Unknown X-16829, was thought to be that of O’Brien but a positive association could not be made at the time. X-16829 and all other unidentified Unknowns were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
In March and April 2018, DPAA personnel disinterred 13 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl that were reportedly returned from the United Nations Military Cemetery Pyongyang during Operation GLORY. The remains were then sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify O’Brien’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA and mitochondrial genome sequencing analysis.
O’Brien’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
O’Brien will be buried in Riverside, California, on a date to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490
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.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and the United States Army for their partnership in this mission.
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 find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.
O’Brien’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000153rZWEAY.
Read O’Brien’s initial ID announcement here: O’Brien.