File photo shows Jennie Jin, a forensic anthropologist who leads the Korea War Project at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), showing some of the objects that accompanied the human remains handed over by North Korea, including a wallet, buttons and canteens, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. — Reuters photo
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump announced the names of the first two US troops to be identified after dozens of sets of remains were repatriated from North Korea in July.
Pyongyang had returned 55 cases of remains from the 1950-53 Korean War, in line with an agreement between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at their summit in Singapore in June. Trump said the two soldiers were Master Sergeant Charles McDaniel and Private First Class William Jones.
“These HEROES are home, they may Rest In Peace, and hopefully their families can have closure,” Trump said on Twitter.
McDaniel’s military identity tag, known as a dog tag, had been found among the remains. It was given to his sons at a public event in Washington last month.
McDaniel was an Army medic thought to have been killed in action in October 1950 during a Chinese attack deep in North Korea.
Defence Secretary Jim Mattis recently said forensic scientists had been able to quickly identify the two sets of remains thanks to a variety of information, including where they had been found.
But it could take years to identify all the remains and experts are using a range of techniques including DNA analysis and dental records.
The Pentagon has said UN military officials met with North Korean counterparts this month to discuss the repatriation of additional remains. Today marks this year’s National POW/MIA Recognition Day. — AFP