Welcome Home: Soldiers Missing From The Korean War Identified
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to serve Thee as Thou deservest:
To give, and not to count the cost;
To fight, and not to heed the wounds;
To toil, and not to seek for rest;
To labor, and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do Thy will.
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are Sgt. 1st Class George W. Koon of Leesville, S.C.; and Sgt. 1st Class Jack O. Tye of Loyall, Ky.; both U.S. Army. Koon will be buried tomorrow in Leesville, and Tye will be buried Monday in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
Representatives from the Army met with the soldiers’ next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.
In late November 1950, Koon was assigned to the Medical Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, and Tye was assigned to Company L, 38th Infantry Regiment. Both were members of the 2nd Infantry Division advancing north of Kunu-ri, North Korea. On Nov. 25, the Chinese Army counterattacked the Americans in what would become known as the Battle of the Chong Chon (River). This combat was some of the fiercest of the war, and the 2nd Division initiated a fighting withdrawal to the south. Koon and Tye were captured by Chinese forces during the intense enemy fire, and subsequently died while in captivity from malnutrition and medical neglect.
In 2002, two joint U.S./Democratic People’s Republic of Korea teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated and excavated a mass burial site located 20 miles northwest of Kunu-ri, along the route taken by captured U.S. POWs being moved to permanent POW camps along the Yalu River. The teams recovered remains at the site believed to be those of several U.S. servicemen, including Koon and Tye.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and JPAC also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in both Koon’s and Tye’s identification.
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Just a word about the Korean War Memorial. It is kind of tucked away off to the side of the mall and overshadowed by the Viet Nam and, now, the WWII Memorials. However, it is absolutely unique and one of the most haunting of all the memorials in Washington. I would certainly encourage anyone visiting DC to put it on their “must see” list. Although we live in Virginia and vist DC fairly frequently, we overlooked it for years. After stumbling on it, we have been back several times, in fact whenever we have out of town visitors.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:57 pmI absolutely agree …
The Korean Memorial was one of the highlights of my recent DC trip, overshadowed only by watching the Changing Of The Guard at the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier.
BTW, the men manning the info booth at the Korean Memorial are/were quite friendly … and were almost struck to tears when I shook their hands (they were KW Vets) and thanked them for their service and mentioned how I know they often times get lost/over-looked in war history and remembrance …
May 16th, 2008 at 1:02 pmThat is why I used the photo that I did. Also notice, the story is about 3 soldiers…
I couldn’t see a more fitting photo.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:06 pm