WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Cpl. George C. Hagie, 18 of Kingsport, Tennessee, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for June 12, 2025.
Hagie's family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In the winter of 1950, Hagie was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action on Dec. 12 after a major battle near the Jangjin (Chosin) Reservoir, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). Lacking any evidence that he was held a prisoner of war, Hagie was declared killed in action on Nov. 28, 1950.
In 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea unilaterally turned over remains to the United States, including one set, designated Unknown X-15650 Operation Glory. The remains were reportedly recovered from prisoner of war camps, United Nations cemeteries and isolated burial sites. None of the remains could be identified as Hagie and he was declared non-recoverable on Jan. 16, 1956. The remains were subsequently buried as an Unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.
In October 2019, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. In March 2021, DPAA personnel disinterred Unknown X-15650 as part of Phase Three of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and accessioned the remains into the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Hagie’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as a chest radiograph comparison and isotope analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.
Hagie’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.
Hagie will be buried in Johnson City, Tennessee, in May 2026.
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, https://www.linkedin.com/company/dodpaa, https://www.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.
Read Hagie's initial ID announcement here: Hagie.