Army Sgt. Stafford L. Morris, missing from the Korean War, has now been accounted for.
In late November 1950, Morris was a member of Battery A, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, and located north of the town of Kujang-dong, North Korea. Due to heavy fighting and encroaching Chinese People's Volunteer Force elements from the north, American units were forced to withdraw south through an area that came to be known as "The Gauntlet." On Dec. 1, the battalion began to move down the supply route, under continuous enemy fire. The unit sustained many casualties.
Morris' name did not appear on any POW list provided by the CPVF or the North Korean People’s Army, however multiple returning American POWs provided any information concerning Morris as a prisoner of war, stating that he died at Hofong Camp, part of Pukchin-Tarigol Camp Cluster, on Jan. 21, 1951. Based on this information, a military review board amended his status to deceased.
In April and May 2005, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (now DPAA), and a Korean People's Army Recovery Team conducted the 37th Joint Field Activity in Unsan County, North Korea. A site approximately 12 miles south of Pukchin-Tarigol camp was excavated, and a large amount of remains were recovered.
DNA analysis and circumstantial evidence were used in the identification of his remains.
Interment services are pending.