Korean War MIA KIA Returned Home to Rest
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Korean War MIA KIA Returned Home to Rest April 10, 2012
Burial service for missing soldier from Korean War
WHAT: Burial service for U.S. Army Cpl. Patrick R. Glennon
WHEN: Wednesday, April 11, 2012, meet on Memorial Drive by 11:15 a.m.
WHERE: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. 22211
DETAILS:
The burial service for U.S. Army Cpl. Patrick R. Glennon, who died during
the Korean War, will be held on Wednesday, April 11 and is open for media
coverage.
For additional information on this service member, the Defense Department’s
mission to account for missing Americans, and to request interviews with the
family:
MMEDIATE RELEASE No. 250-12
April 09, 2012________________________________
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.
The information above is what you get when you have been cleared to respectfully observe a fallen soldier burial ceremony. I too was Honored to observe and photograph the burial ceremony and see history in the making. I was however surprised at the few number of press in attendance because of the nature of the recovery or one of of fallen heroes and the fact that North Korea at the time seemed to be on a path of reconciling some relations with South Korea and the United States.
Fast forward to now and we are on the brink of hostilities on the Korean peninsula who’s DMZ is one of the most armed boarders between two countries in the world. The thought of a miscalculation of intentions that could throw America into another war is unfortunately a very possible outcome of the bluster coming from the North.
It is sad to think that Cpl. Patrick R. Glennon died in a war that took place in the 1950s and his remains took that long to arrive back home last year April 11, 2012. It is sad that the burden of world peace rest on the shoulders of the young men and women of the US Military. I Honor Their Service To America and the world! Thanks to those like Cpl. Patrick Glennon who gave all that we be free.