WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Sgt. DeLoren D. Dage, 23, of South Gate, California, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Jan. 15, 2025.
Dage's family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In the winter of 1950, Dage was assigned to A Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 7th Infantry Division. Between Nov. 27 and Dec. 1, the 31st RCT engaged the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army on the Eastern side of the Jangjin (Chosen) Reservoir in North Korea, sustaining heavy casualties. During this moving action, Dage was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1951.
In 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea unilaterally turned over remains to the United States, including one set, designated Unknown X-15947 Operation Glory. In Jan. 1956, the Army's Office of the Quartermaster General acknowledged the Central Identification Unit - Camp Kokura's determination that Unknown X-15947 was unidentifiable. In February 1956, Unknown X-15947 was sent to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu for interment.
On July 11, 2022, Unknown X-15947 was disinterred from the NMCP and accessioned into the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.
To identify Dage’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.
Dage’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.
Dage will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, 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 our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.
Dage’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000RlYHQEA3.
Read Dage's initial ID announcement here: Dage.