WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. William A. Wheeler, 18, of Hazel Park, Michigan, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Aug. 27, 2024.
Wheeler’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In September 1950, Wheeler was a member of H Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action after his unit engaged in combat actions with the North Korean People's Army along the Naktong River in the vicinity of Yongsan, South Korea, on Sept. 1. The exact circumstances of Wheeler's death were unknown, but the U.S. Army later determined he was killed in action on Oct. 25, 1950.
In the fall of 1953, during Operation Glory, Chinese Communist Forces unilaterally turned over remains to the United Nations Command, including one set, designated as Unknown X-181. Those remains were reportedly recovered from prisoner of war camps, United Nations cemeteries and isolated burial sites. None of the remains could be conclusively identified as Wheeler. Those unidentified remains were subsequently buried as an Unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In October 2017, DPAA personnel disinterred Unknown X-181 as part of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Wheeler’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as other circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.
Wheeler’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.
Wheeler will be buried in Troy, Michigan in 2025.
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.
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.
Wheeler’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000004lypEAA.
Read Wheeler's initial ID announcement here: Wheeler.