The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced this week two U.S. Army soldiers who were killed in action during the Korean War were accounted for.
Army Pfc. Raymond A. Smith, 18, of Brooklyn, New York, was accounted for on March 25, 2021, and Army Sgt. Elwood M. Truslow, 20, of Batesville, Virginia, was accounted for on June 7, 2021.
In late 1950, Smith was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. At the same time, Truslow was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
Smith was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, and Truslow was reported missing in action on Dec. 12, 1950, after their units were attacked by enemy forces as they attempted to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, their remains could not be recovered.
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On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
To identify Smith's and Truslow’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Smith’s and Truslow’s names are recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to their names to indicate they have been accounted for.
Smith will be buried Sept. 25, 2021, in his hometown.
Truslow will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The date has yet to be determined.
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