Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Suliman, F.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Sgt. Frank J. Suliman, 20, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for on Jan. 15, 2019.

(This identification was initially announced on Jan. 18, 2019.)

In late 1950, Suliman was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, fighting against members of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) in North Korea. On Dec. 1, 1950, the convoy of trucks Suliman was riding in was halted by a roadblock south of Kunuri, North Korea, and the Soldiers were commanded to abandon the vehicles and attempt to get through the road block on foot. Fellow Soldiers reported that Suliman was captured and taken to the CPVF prisoner of war camp at Pukchin-Tarigol, North Korea, where he reportedly died in March 1951.

On June 12, 2018, President Donald Trump met with North Korea Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, The leaders signed a joint statement, including a commitment to recover the remains of American service members lost in North Korea.

On July 27, 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Suliman’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

Today, 7,663 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by North Korean officials or recovered from North Korea by American recovery teams. Suliman’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For family contact information, contact the Army Casualty office at (800) 892-2490.

Suliman will be buried April 30, 2019, in Wrightstown, New Jersey.

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 call (703) 699-1420/1169.

Suliman’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000Aa0YNEAZ