The U.S. government said this week that the remains of a 27-year-old man died during the Korean War had been identified, 72 years after he was reported missing.
U.S. Tommie T. Hanks was reported missing in action on November 26, 1950, when his unit attempted to retreat from a position in North Korea, according to a press release from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). His name was later inscribed on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. His remains was pronounced “unrecoverable” on January 16, 1956.
Tommie T. Hanks, Cpl., U.S. Army Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
The DPAA reported that Hanks’ bones were among the 55 boxes holding Korean War remains that North Korea gave to the United States in July 2018. After a summit between then-President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un, the boxes were given over and transferred to a DPAA laboratory for identification.
The agency stated that anthropological and isotopic analysis, DNA analysis, and circumstantial evidence were utilized to identify the remains.
The remains of Hanks were located on August 2, 2022.
Other recently identified remains include those of Army Cpl. Joseph J. Puopolo, a 19-year-old Massachusetts native, and Pvt. Felix M. Yanez. This past summer, the remains of both males were also accounted for.
Now that Hanks’ remains have been identified, a rosette will be placed next to his name on the Courts of the Missing maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission. His burial will take place at Arlington National Cemetery.
Since 1982, the DPAA has identified the remains of approximately 450 Americans killed in the Korean War. The agency returns identifiable remains to their families with full military honors.
According to the agency, more than 7,600 Americans slain during the war remain unaccounted for. “Hundreds” of these remains are considered irretrievable.
According to the DPAA, the Korean War is the bloodiest combat of the Cold War era, with the United States suffering around 36,500 casualties. This exceeds 90% of non-Korean U.N. members. losses.