WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. Edwin C. Martin, 18, of Foster, Ohio, who was killed during the Korean War, was accounted for April 29, 2025.
Martin’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In 1950, Martin was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Aug. 31, in the vicinity of Yongsan, Republic of Korea (South Korea) after his unit encountered enemy combatants attempting to cross the Naktong River. He was never reported as a prisoner of war and subsequent searches of the battlefield failed to recover his remains. With no evidence of his continued survival, the Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953. He was declared non-recoverable on Jan 16, 1956.
On Oct. 25, 1950, a set of remains was recovered near the village of Sangde Po, South Korea. The remains, designated Unknown X-261 Tanggok, could not be positively identified at the time and were interred in the United Nation’s Military Cemetery (UNMC) Miryang, the next day.
As part of the process to evacuate U.S. casualties from the Korean warzone, X-261 was exhumed and reinterred in UNMC Tanggok, before being disinterred again and transported to the Central Identification Unit (CIU) in Kokura, Japan for potential identification. The CUI analyzed the remains but ultimately, they were declared unidentifiable and transported to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. In June 2021, DPAA personnel disinterred Unknown X-261 as part of Phase Three of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Martin’s remains, scientists from DPAA used DNA, dental, anthropological and isotope analysis, as well as chest radiograph. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis and mitochondrial genome sequencing data.
Martin’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.
Martin will be buried in West Chester Township, Ohio in September 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.
Martin’s personnel profile can be viewed at Cpl EDWIN CURTIS MARTIN - Service Member Profile
Read Martin’s initial ID announcement here: Martin.