Army Cpl. Edward Pool, missing from the Korean War, has now been accounted for.
In late November, 1950, Pool was a member of 31st Heavy Mortar Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. Approximately 2,500 U.S. and 700 South Korean soldiers assembled into the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), which was deployed east of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, when it was engaged by overwhelming numbers of Chinese forces. By Dec. 6, the U.S. Army evacuated approximately 1,500 wounded service members; the remaining soldiers had been either captured or killed in enemy territory. Because Pool could not be accounted for by his unit at the end of the battle, he was reported missing in action as of Nov. 30, 1950.
Pool’s name appeared on a list provided by the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces and Korean People’s Army as a prisoner of war, however no information was provided regarding his status. Following the war, one returning American prisoner reported that Pool had died in January 1041. Based on this information, the U.S. Army declared him deceased as of Jan. 31, 1951.
Between 1990 and 1994, North Korea returned 208 boxes of commingled human remains to the United States, which we now believe to contain the remains of at least 600 U.S. servicemen who fought during the war. North Korean documents included in the repatriation indicate that some of the remains were recovered from the vicinity where Pool was believed to have died.
DNA analysis and circumstantial evidence were used in the identification of his remains.
Interment services are pending.