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## News Release

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# Soldier Missing From Korean War Accounted For (Witt)

The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Cpl. Robert V. Witt, 20, of Bellflower, Calif., will be buried Oct. 30 in Whittier, Calif. In late November 1950, Witt was assigned to 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), 7th Infantry Division, historically known as Task Force Faith. The 31st RCT was deployed east of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, when it was attacked by overwhelming numbers of Chinese forces. On Dec. 1, 1950, remnants of the 31st RCT began a fighting withdrawal to more defensible positions near Hagaru-ri, south of the reservoir. On Dec. 2, 1950, Witt was reported as missing in action.

In 1953, during the prisoner of war exchanges historically known as “Operation Little Switch” and “Operation Big Switch,” repatriated U.S. soldiers told debriefers that Witt had been captured during the battle and died from malnutrition. His remains were not among those returned by Communist forces in 1954, however.

Between 1990 and 1994, North Korea returned to the United States 208 boxes of commingled human remains, which we now believe contain the remains of at least 600 U.S. servicemen who fought during the war. North Korean documents included in the repatriation indicated that some of the remains were recovered from the area where Witt was believed to have died.

Additionally, in July 2000, a joint U.S./Democratic People’s Republic of Korea team excavated a burial site near Hwaong-Ri Village, North Korea, and recovered human remains.

To identify Witt’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, including mitochondrial, Y-chromosome short tandem repeat, and autosomal chromosome DNA analyses, which matched his brother.

Today, more than 7,800 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously turned over by North Korean officials or recovered by American teams.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or call (703) 699-1420.

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