WASHINGTON –
WASHINGTON— The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. Elwyn D. Nordyke, 22, of Tacoma, Washington, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for March 10, 2025.
Nordyke's family recently received their full briefing on is identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
Late November 1950, Nordyke was assigned to Medical Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 28 in the vicinity Of Chosin Reservoir, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, when his convoy was ambushed by opposing forces. It was later determined that Nordyke was held at Camp 1 in Changsong, North Korea, where he died in captivity in the summer of 1951.
In September and October 1954, during Operation GLORY, Chinese Communist Forces turned over remains to the United Nations Command, including numerous sets of remains purportedly from Camp 1. One set of remains, designated Unknown X-14168, could not be positivity identified as any unaccounted-for Soldier. Unknown X-14168 was subsequently buried as an Unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, also known as the Punchbowl.
In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. In February 2020, DPAA personnel disinterred Unknown X-14168 as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and accessioned the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Unknown X-14168, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis and mitochondrial genome sequencing data.
Nordyke’s name is recorded on the 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.
Nordyke will be buried in Lakewood, Washington on a date yet 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 fact sheet on the DPAA website at: https://www.dpaa.mil/Resources/Fact-Sheets/Article-View/Article/569610/progress-on-korean-war-personnel-accounting/.
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.
Read Nordyke’s initial ID announcement here: Nordyke.