Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Phy, H.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Cpl. Herman R. Phy, 18, of Philadelphia, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for July 23, 2019.

(This identification was initially published on July 31, 2019.)

In the summer of 1953, Phy was an infantryman assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 17th Infantry Division. He was reported missing on July 6, 1953, when he could not be accounted for by his unit in the vicinity of Hill 255, Pork Chop Hill, North Korea.

In 1993, North Korea unilaterally turned over 33 boxes of remains as part of a larger group of 208 boxes, known as K-208. With that turnover, nine boxes were reported to have been recovered from Kundong-ni, Kimhwa County, Kangwon Province.

To identify Phy’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and 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.

DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of the Army for their partnership in this mission.

Today, 7,607 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by Korean officials, recovered from Korea by American recovery teams, or disinterred from unknown graves. Phy’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 information, contact the Army Service Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.

Phy’s funeral date and location have yet to be determined. For future funeral information, visit www.dpaa.mil.

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.

Phy’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000Ca6yoEAB