Korean War MIA Patrick R. Glennon Identified
The body of Corporal Patrick R. Glennon will be returned to his family for burial, 52 years after he was declared missing in action in Korea.
The body of Corporal Patrick R. Glennon will be returned to his family for burial, 52 years after he was declared missing in action in Korea.
DOD (“Soldier Missing in Action from Korean War Identified“):
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Cpl. Patrick R. Glennon of Rochester, N.Y., will be buried April 11, at Arlington National Cemetery. On Nov. 1, 1950, Glennon, and the G Company, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, were holding a defensive position along the Nammyon River near Unsan, North Korea, when they were attacked by Chinese forces. Glennon was listed as missing in action following the heavy fighting.
In April 2007, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) handed over six boxes of remains of American service members to New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi, who were visiting North Korea. The remains had been recovered from areas near Unsan, where Glennon had been lost.
Metal identification tags bearing Glennon’s name, and other material evidence were included with the remains. To identify the remains, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools such as dental records and mitochondrial DNA — which matched Glennon’s cousins.
Today, more than 7,900 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the Korean War. Identifications continue to be made from the remains that were returned to the United States, using forensic and DNA technology.
It’s remarkable the so many people remain unaccounted for after all these years; presumably, we’ll never find most of them. It’s also noteworthy that 7900 exceeds the total war dead Americans have suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.
I think part of it is that North Korea remains hostile to the US in a way no other party we’ve gone to war with has, which has prevented us from doing any sort of thorough search for remains.