Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        National Guard Office of Special Victims' Counsel

    Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  News Features
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 New York National Guard Honors Korean War MIA By Col. Richard Goldenberg,
                New York National Guard
 ELMIRA, N.Y. – Nine New York Army National Guard members ensured that a Korean War Soldier who went unidentified for 70 years was laid to rest with full military honors May 27. An Army National Guard Honor Guard provided funeral honors and firing party as Cpl. Robert Agard of Buffalo was interred at the family plot in Elmira’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park. “It was a tremendous honor to provide military honors for Corporal Agard,” said Sgt. Jedidiah “J” Estrada. The Honor Guard also supported the return of the remains to New York May 24 at the Frederick Douglas Greater Rochester International Airport. Bringing home and honoring those missing in action holds special meaning for the team, said Sgt. 1st Class Ronald Thomas, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the return of remains. “I’ve been on many of these over the years, and it is just awesome to be part of it,” he said. “My father and grandfather were Vietnam and WWII veterans, so every time I can be part of bringing home those members to their families, it just holds so much extra meaning.” Agard was killed July 19, 1950, near Taejon, South Korea, during one of the first battles of the Korean War. Assigned as a scout with the 24th Reconnaissance Company, 24th Infantry Division, Agard’s unit was trying to delay the advance of North Korean forces invading South Korea. The delaying action was fought at Taejon so the 24th Infantry Division, exhausted after more than two weeks of continuous combat against the Korean People’s Army, could withdraw. Agard arrived in Korea with the division July 3, according to Army records. The entire 24th Division made a stand at Taejon against numerically and technically superior North Korean forces July 14-21 before they were forced to withdraw. Agard, a private first class at the time of his death, volunteered for a patrol to investigate enemy presence along the road south of Taejon July 19 to prepare for the division breakout. While scouting forward of American lines, Agard and his 11-man patrol came under fire. Four were wounded and the rest were never seen again. Agard was killed the night before his division withdrew from Taejon, a tactical defeat but strategic success in providing time for U.S. forces to establish a defensive perimeter around the port of Pusan, Korea. Almost 1,000 members of the 24th Infantry Division were killed, nearly 230 were wounded and another 2,400 were missing at Taejon. “I looked at the obituary and he was 19 years old,” said Father Robert Adkins from the Emmanuel Church in Elmira during the service. “What could he have been in his 80s? At his young age in the military, in a tragic situation, Robert did his duty. He showed up,” he said. Army Graves Registration Service recovered five sets of remains in December 1950 and buried them in the U.N. Military Cemetery in Taejon. Four of the five were identified as members of the 24th Reconnaissance Company patrol lost in July 1950. Agard’s parents, living in the Finger Lakes community of Penn Yan, were notified of his status as missing in action and presumed dead. The fifth set of remains, lacking identification, were sent to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at the Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu for interment as a Korean War Unknown. The Army declared Agard deceased in 1953. His remains were declared unrecoverable in 1956. Department of Defense officials believed Agard’s remains were those of that fifth Soldier who could not be identified with 1950s technology. The unidentified remains were exhumed from the Punchbowl cemetery in June 2019 and subjected to DNA testing. Identification was confirmed through dental and DNA examination conducted by the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, part of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. His remains were positively accounted for Sept. 29, 2020, and Agard’s closest living relative, Gloyd Kimball in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, was notified. “To see all these folks here, the servicemen, veterans, all get together with family and dear friends, it could not have been better,” Kimball said. “It could not have been better. We live in an amazing, wonderful country.” Robert Agard was born Nov. 29, 1930, and enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1948. Following training at Fort Benning, Georgia, he was assigned to the 24th Infantry Division as part of the occupation forces in Japan. Agard’s name was previously 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. “I take my position of honoring these fallen Soldiers so very seriously,” Thomas said. “They were yesterday’s generation, and our role with the Honor Guard represents today’s generation showing our respect.” The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency lists 7,544 missing in action still unrecovered or unidentified from the Korean War as of April 1. Since 1982, 612 remains have been identified and accounted for.
 SHARE
 PRINT
  New York National Guard
 korean war
 mia
 NY Army Guard Band Performs for Netherlands King and Queen News Features • yesterday
 Chaplains Address Guard Soldiers’ Spiritual, Mental Health News Features • 6 days ago
 Guard General Retires After Final Watch at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier News Features • 7 days ago
 Young Cancer Patient Made Honorary 1st Sergeant in Illinois Guard News Features • 7 days ago
 80 Years Ago, National Guard Units Played Key Role in D-Day Landings News Features • 13 days ago
 2024 (47)  2023 (107)  2022 (121)  2021 (119)  2020 (203)  2019 (208)  2018 (165)  2017 (164)  2016 (109)  2015 (52)
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil