Remains of U.S. MIA repatriated after 60 years

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Remains of U.S. MIA repatriated after 60 years

An American sailor killed in action during the Korean War finally went home after nearly 60 years.

The Ministry of National Defense said yesterday that the remains of an American sailor excavated last April in Yeongdeok, North Gyeongsang province by the ministry’s Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification were identified and will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on July 12. The sailor’s name is Second Lieutenant Robert Warren Langwell and he was from Ohio.

Langwell, who worked as a supply officer, went missing with 21 other sailors at sea 3.6 kilometers (2.2 miles) away from Port Chuksan, North Gyeongsang province on Oct. 1, 1950. His minesweeper hit a submarine mine.

The Agency recovered the remains after a resident reported the locals found an American corpse while fishing during the Korean War and buried them in a mountain near the beach.” The remains were excavated and transferred to Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, where they were identified by dental records.

Seven bodies of American soldiers have been discovered by the Korean Army since the Korean War, and this is the second time identification was possible. There are still 8,024 American soldiers missing.


By Kim Min-seok [enational@joongang.co.kr]
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