The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced recently that U.S. Army Sergeant Stanley Turba, 27, of Russellton, Pennsylvania, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for June 30, 2023.
In April 1951, Turba was a member of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, Eighth U.S. Army. He went missing in action after his unit engaged in a firefight with Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces in the vicinity of the Hwachon Reservoir, near the village of Yang-gu, South Korea, on April 26. Due to the fighting, his body could not be recovered at that time, and there was never any evidence that he was a prisoner of war. The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Feb. 23, 1954.
After the implementation of the Korean War Armistice, the Republic of Korea began efforts to account for war losses. The Ministry of National Defense Agency for Killed in Action Recovery and Identification (MAKRI) was developed to work alongside DPAA. Over the years several investigations into various locations were conducted, including the search for missing men associated with site FSC 479-F, where Turba is believed to have fallen.
Between 2013 and 2017, FSC 479-F was investigated several times, with no positive matches for Sgt. Turba. In April 2021, MAKRI returned to the site and came across remains near Hill 909. The remains were carefully exhumed and sent to a lab for testing. The following October, MAKRI turned over these remains to DPAA where they were sent to our laboratory for analysis and possible identification.
To identify Turba’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Turba’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Turba will be buried in Columbus, Ohio, on a date to be determined.