Latest news with #BattleofChosinReservoir
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Yahoo
He was 'excitedly awaiting' a return from the Korean War in 1950. He finally will in 2025
Six months before he went missing after a battle in the Korean War, Byron Brock was looking homeward. A U.S. Army sergeant, Brock had already sent a footlocker of his belongings back to his mother's home on Flower Street in Phoenix. 'I have packed all my belongings in my bags and am excitedly awaiting my Orders to go home,' he wrote in a July 20, 1950, letter to his mother. 'It has been a long time since I last saw the Motherland.' He never would see his hometown of Phoenix again. He went missing after his unit was forced to retreat from Hagaru-ri, North Korea, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in 1950. Earlier this year, the U.S. Army identified his remains using modern scientific methods and contacted family members. It resolved a question that had lingered for three-quarters of a century and allowed the Army to formally and officially account for James Byron Brock, known to his family by his middle name. For Amy Fernandez, it rekindled stories of the uncle she never met, but knew from stories told by her grandmother Julia Brock Skousen, Byron's mother. 'He was always talked about in my mom's family,' Fernandez said. The tales were detailed and frequent — Amy's grandmother lived next door and although Julia had seven other children, Byron, her youngest child from her first marriage, was always on her mind. 'It tortured her for decades because she let him go,' Fernandez said. Julia had to sign for her son to enter the Army because he was only 16 years old, Fernandez said, recounting family lore. Her grandmother blamed herself for his demise, and rejected overtures from the military to compensate her for her loss. 'She was so funny, so old and stubborn, she refused it,' Fernandez said of the offer of a Purple Heart to honor Byron. 'It was like blood money.' Money the Army sent as a form of reparation was used to buy a set of dressers, which Julia gave to one of her daughters. They're still in the family today. Fernandez shared a photo of a young Byron, his cap angled jauntily on his head. The photo hung in her grandmother's home for years. On the back was Byron's typewritten letter, where he complained about the steamy heat in Korea and mused that the rain his post got in 15 minutes would equal what Phoenix gets in a year. 'I have sent another foot locker with some more of my civilian cloths in it,' he wrote. 'It will probably get to you about the fifteenth of August.' He closed by sending his love to his family 'and tell them that I will be coming home in the very near future.' Brock was reported missing in December 1950. In 1951, he was listed as missing in action. A two-paragraph story in The Arizona Republic on March 29, 1954, stated he was presumed dead. But on Jan. 29 this year, the federal Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced in a press release that he had been accounted for. Brock was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was among the many soldiers who were reported missing in action following a roll call at Hamhung on Dec. 12, 1950, after the battle, one of the most significant of the Korean War. The Chosin Reservoir Battle erupted during a brutal winter in 1950, after the Chinese Communist Forces launched an attack against the U.S. and United Nations troops near the Chosin Reservoir, a man-made lake also known as Changjin Lake, located in the northwest of South Hamgyong Province. U.S. and U.N. troops were outnumbered four-to-one and isolated in the desolate snow-packed mountain area. Brock's regiment was among the troops forced to withdraw to a defensive perimeter at Hagaru-ri and then fall back to Hamhung to be evacuated by sea. Troops faced 'annihilation,' cut off from land supply and suffering in the 'bitter cold of the Korean winter,' according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. They also faced 'roadblocks, ambushes, blown bridges' as they retreated, said the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in the press release. The treacherous way back to the port city of Hungnam was 70 miles away on an icy road in subzero temperatures, according to the U.S. Marines. Ground forces suffered more than 5,000 combat casualties and thousands more suffered from frostbite and illness, according to the U.S. Naval Museum. After the end of the war, North Korea returned remains recovered from Changson, also known as Prisoner of War Camp #1, in the fall of 1953 during Operation Glory. When Brock could not be identified as part of those remains, a presumptive finding of death was issued on March 10, 1954, according to the MIA/POW Accounting Agency. Two years later, all remains that could not be identified with the tools available at the time were buried as unknowns in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, known as the Punchbowl. Among those remaining was one labeled X-15881. Almost seven decades later, in 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency disinterred 652 'Korean War unknowns' from the Punchbowl, the agency said. Among those were remains X-15881, which were analyzed with modern technology and identified as Brock's remains. Scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, circumstantial evidence, mitochondrial DNA, and mitochondrial genome sequence analysis to identify his remains, the agency said. Brock's name and others missing from the Korean War are recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl. The agency said a rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. Funeral and burial plans have yet to be decided. Brock's nephew Robert "Woody" Brock — the son of Brock's older brother — is heading up final plans, Fernandez said. The Army told the family that Brock is entitled to a military burial in a national cemetery. But Fernandez wonders if her grandmother would have other ideas. 'She would say, the Army's had him long enough,' Fernandez said. Perhaps he should come home to the place where he grew up. 'Maybe he should be buried next to Granny,' she said. Julia is buried at the Greenwood Memory Lawn Mortuary and Cemetery west of downtown Phoenix, she said, adding that other family members are also interred there. Reach the reporter at The Republic's coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. Support Arizona news coverage with a tax-deductible donation at Reach Pitzl at or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on social media @maryjpitzl. . Subscribe to today. Honored: Native veterans living and dead are remembered at Steele Indian School Park for Memorial Day This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Military identifies remains of Phoenix native killed in Korea in 1950
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
U.S. soldier, 17, who went missing in Korean War is accounted for
A 17-year-old soldier who was killed during the Korean War has been accounted for 75 years after he went missing, officials said Monday. Army Cpl. Albert J. Estrada was a member of Battery B, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release. He began service in July 1950, according to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation. He was one of tens of thousands of soldiers present at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in November and December 1950, the DPAA said. During the battle, 30,000 United Nations servicemembers, including U.S. soldiers, faced off against 120,000 Chinese and North Korean enemy forces in "rugged terrain in lethally cold weather," the DPAA said. The battle, which the DPAA described as "one of the most brutal" of the entire war, raged for 17 days. Army officials wanted to push North Korean forces into China and sever supply lines near the Chosin reservoir, the DPAA said. But the North Korean forces launched a surprise attack that forced one group of soldiers to retreat in late November. A few days later, Chinese soldiers surrounded and isolated another group of soldiers. A task force was hastily assembled to try to organize a withdrawal. A "bitter fight" allowed U.N. forces to open an airfield to bring in reinforcements and evacuate casualties on December 1, according to the U.S. military, and eventually, the U.N. soldiers managed a full retreat. More than 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers were killed during this time, the DPAA said. Thousands more were injured or incapacitated by the cold weather. Due to the elements and the retreat, "hundreds of fallen Marines and soldiers were unable to be immediately recovered," the DPAA said. Estrada was one of the soldiers who could not be located after the battle. He was reported missing on Dec. 6, 1950. There was no information to indicate that he was ever held as a prisoner of war, the DPAA said. Three years later, on Dec. 31, 1953, the U.S. Army issued a presumptive finding of death. Between 1953 and 1954, the North Korean government returned thousands of remains of soldiers who had died during the Korean War. The remains had been buried in U.N. cemeteries in North Korea. The effort, known as Operation Glory, included the return of 500 sets of remains that had been buried near the Chosin reservoir. All but 126 of the remains were identified. The unidentified remains were buried as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, the DPAA said. From 1990 to 1994, the North Korean government returned 47 additional containers of remains attributed to the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. From those recovery efforts, the DPAA and the organizations that preceded it were able to identify over 130 of the unaccounted-for missing personnel lost in the Chosin Reservoir Campaign. The DPAA did not say which handover Estrada's remains were recovered from. A full announcement of his accounting will be shared at a later date, the agency said. Estrada earned multiple military honors, including the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal, according to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation. Estrada's surviving siblings, Manuel Estrada and Ruth Tucker, have long lobbied for his identification, according to a 2018 article from The Daily Democrat. That year, Tucker was presented with a medal from the Republic of South Korea honoring her efforts to account for missing American soldiers who died during the Korean War. At the time, Tucker said complete identification of Korean War remains can take between four and five years. Inside the monarch butterfly migration mystery: flying to Mexico from Canada, the U.S. Scientists warn what future bird flu mutations could mean for people | 60 Minutes What's next for AI at DeepMind, Google's artificial intelligence lab | 60 Minutes
CBS News
22-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
17-year-old U.S. soldier who went missing in Korean War is accounted for
A 17-year-old soldier who was killed during the Korean War has been accounted for 75 years after he went missing, officials said Monday. Army Cpl. Albert J. Estrada was a member of Battery B, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release . He began service in July 1950, according to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation . He was one of tens of thousands of soldiers present at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in November and December 1950, the DPAA said. During the battle, 30,000 United Nations servicemembers, including U.S. soldiers, faced off against 120,000 Chinese and North Korean enemy forces in "rugged terrain in lethally cold weather," the DPAA said . The battle, which the DPAA described as "one of the most brutal" of the entire war, raged for 17 days. Army officials wanted to push North Korean forces into China and sever supply lines near the Chosin reservoir, the DPAA said. But the North Korean forces launched a surprise attack that forced one group of soldiers to retreat in late November. A few days later, Chinese soldiers surrounded and isolated another group of soldiers. A task force was hastily assembled to try to organize a withdrawal. A "bitter fight" allowed U.N. forces to open an airfield to bring in reinforcements and evacuate casualties on December 1, according to the U.S. military, and eventually, the U.N. soldiers managed a full retreat. More than 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers were killed during this time, the DPAA said. Thousands more were injured or incapacitated by the cold weather. Due to the elements and the retreat, "hundreds of fallen Marines and soldiers were unable to be immediately recovered," the DPAA said. Estrada was one of the soldiers who could not be located after the battle. He was reported missing on Dec. 6, 1950. There was no information to indicate that he was ever held as a prisoner of war, the DPAA said. Three years later, on Dec. 31, 1953, the U.S. Army issued a presumptive finding of death. Between 1953 and 1954, the North Korean government returned thousands of remains of soldiers who had died during the Korean War. The remains had been buried in U.N. cemeteries in North Korea. The effort, known as Operation Glory, included the return of 500 sets of remains that had been buried near the Chosin reservoir. All but 126 of the remains were identified. The unidentified remains were buried as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, the DPAA said. From 1990 to 1994, the North Korean government returned 47 additional containers of remains attributed to the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. From those recovery efforts, the DPAA and the organizations that preceded it were able to identify over 130 of the unaccounted-for missing personnel lost in the Chosin Reservoir Campaign. The DPAA did not say which handover Estrada's remains were recovered from. A full announcement of his accounting will be shared at a later date, the agency said. Estrada earned multiple military honors, including the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal, according to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation. Estrada's surviving siblings, Manuel Estrada and Ruth Tucker, have long lobbied for his identification, according to a 2018 article from The Daily Democrat . That year, Tucker was presented with a medal from the Republic of South Korea honoring her efforts to account for missing American soldiers who died during the Korean War. At the time, Tucker said complete identification of Korean War remains can take between four and five years.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Remains of fallen Korean War veteran coming home after 75 years
HAZLEHURST, Ga. (WSAV) — The remains of a United States Army Master Sergeant will return home, 75 years after he was killed in action in the Korean War. Master Sergeant Luther Grace first enlisted in the U.S. Army in June 1940. Serving in World War II, he gave his life in action at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir a decade later in the Korean War. Grace was reported missing in action on Nov. 30, 1950, near the Chosin Reservoir in what was then known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, now known as North Korea. There was no evidence that he was held as a prisoner of war, and the U.S. Army issued a presumptive finding of death Dec. 31, 1953. In 1954, the United Nations Command and the Chinese Communist Forces exchanged the remains of fallen service personnel in an effort named Operation GLORY. The Central Identification Unit Laboratory at Kokura, Japan could not identify Grace's remains, and they were designated Unknown X-15760. Two years later, all unidentified Korean War remains, including Unknown X-15760 were moved to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hi. In July 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)'s researchers proposed a plan to study the hundreds of Korean War unknown burials, hoping to identify them. Unknown X-15760 was disinterred on March 29, 2021, and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory. The DPAA spent several years of DNA, dental and anthropological analysis and based on the totality of the circumstantial evidence available and announced that U.S. Army Master Sgt. Luther Grace was accounted for on Dec. 18, 2024. MSgt Grace's name is recorded on the American Battle Monument Commission's Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. Now, 75 years later, he will be brought back to his home state on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, and will be escorted to Hazlehurst following his arrival. Further details will be announced for the public to view the procession into Jeff Davis County. A viewing of Grace's U.S. Army dress uniform with awarded metals will be held on Friday, May 2, 2025, from 5-8 p.m. at Wainright-Parlor Funeral Home in Hazlehurst, Georgia. Grace will be honored with a full U.S. military funeral service at the Jeff Davis High School Yellow Jackets Stadium in Hazlehurst, Georgia on Saturday, May 3, at 11 a.m. Grace will be laid to rest following the service in the Fishing Creek Sapfield Cemetery in Lumber City, Ga. Members of the Jeff Davis County Veterans Association, Veterans of Telfair County and all other veterans will serve as pallbearers. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that memorial contributions be made to the Jeff Davis County Veterans Association or any veterans association of your choice. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
