Army Pfc. Lavern C. Ullmer, missing from the Korean War, has now been accounted for.
In late November 1950, Ullmer was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, fighting units of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) in North Korea, in a delaying action south from the Ch’ongch’on River to Kunu-ri. Within days, more than half of the regiment was lost due to attacks from the CPFV. The unit was ordered to withdraw, and when Ullmer could not be accounted for, he was declared missing in action on Nov. 30, 1950.
Ullmer’s name did not appear on any POW list provided by the CPVF or the North Korean People’s Army, however two repatriated American prisoners of war reported that Ullmer had been captured and died at Hofong Camp, part of Pukchin-Tarigol Camp Cluster, on Jan. 21, 1951. Based on this information, a military review board amended Ullmer’s status to deceased in 1951.
In April and May of 2005, a Joint Recovery Team conducted the 37th Joint Field Activity in Unsan County, South Pyongan Province, North Korea. On April 19, the team visited a site reported by a local witness to contain American remains.
DNA analysis, as well as circumstantial and anthropological evidence, were used in identifying Ullmer's remains.
Interment services are scheduled for Nov. 11 in Dayton, Ohio.