Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Wilson, G.)

WASHINGTON  –   The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Cpl. Gerald N. Wilson, 19, of Camden, Missouri, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Aug. 29, 2019.

(This identification was initially released Sept. 3, 2019.)

In the summer of 1950, Wilson was a member of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was last seen July 25, 1950, while participating in the defense of Yongdong, South Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.

Following the war, the 565th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company recovered a set of remains, designated Unknown X-1044 Tanggok from Ulgok, South Korea. The remains were declared unidentifiable and were subsequently buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

On June 11, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency disinterred X-1044 Tanggok and accessioned the remains to the laboratory.

To identify Wilson’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison 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, 7,604 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. Wilson’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.

Wilson will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The date has 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.

Wilson’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000009WJxrEAG