The bones of a 19-year-old Arizona soldier who was killed in action in 1950 during the Korean War will be interred in Tucson the following month, according to representatives of the US Army.
After his bones were discovered on July 13, 2022, Pvt. Felix M. Yanez will be buried on September 3 at South Lawn Cemetery.
Yanez, a native of Douglas, Arizona, served in the Army with the 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company.
According to army authorities, Yanez passed away on July 16, 1950, while battling the North Korean People’s Army north of Taejon, South Korea, near the Kum River.
The fighting prevented his corpse from being found at the time, according to authorities.
Unidentified remains discovered in March 1951 were interred at the Tanggok United Nations Cemetery.
Five years later, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu received all 848 sets of unidentified Korean War remains from the Central Identification Unit Kokura in Japan. These remains were then transported to Hawaii and interred there.
However, in 2019, the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam laboratory in Hawaii received some of the unidentified remains that had been buried by the Defense Department’s POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
According to army authorities, dental and DNA examination allowed for the ultimate identification of Yanez’s remains.
Soldier from West Virginia who died in the Korean War will be laid to rest
Additionally, the Army announced that American Army Cpl. Paul Mitchem, 20, of Avondale, would have burial ceremonies on September 2 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
Mitchem was identified by the POW/MIA Accounting Agency in February 2021. He served in Company K of the 24th Infantry Division’s 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment.
After his battalion suffered significant losses close to Ch’onan, South Korea, in July 1950, Mitchem was listed as missing in action. His corpse was not discovered at first because his unit was compelled to flee.
The unknown remains discovered in October 1950 were interred in Honolulu, Hawaii. Mitchem’s remains were unearthed from the Punchbowl cemetery in 2019; DNA testing, dental analysis, and anthropological examination all supported this identification.
On the Courts of the Missing Walls at the Punchbowl, a rosette will be put next to his name to denote that he has been located.
Over 7,500 Americans from the Korean War are still missing, according to the Army.
According to the Army, more than 450 American casualties from the Korean War have had their bodies identified and returned to their families since 1982. In addition, after the war, when the North Korean government handed over remains to American custody, the bodies of around 2,000 Americans were recognised.