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 Korean War Accounting
 Korean-War
                                Since 1982, the remains of over 450 Americans killed in the Korean War have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors. This number is in addition to the roughly 2,000 
                                        Americans whose remains were identified in the years following the end of hostilities, when the North Korean government returned over 3,000 sets of remains to U.S. custody
                                        
                                        Under 7,500 Americans are still unaccounted-for from the Korean War, hundreds of whom are believed to be in a “non-recoverable” category, meaning that after rigorous investigation DPAA has determined that 
                                        the individual perished but does not believe it is possible to recover the remains. On rare occasions, new leads can bring a case back to active status. 
                                        DPAA and our partners continue to build on over sixty years of investigative efforts on the Korean peninsula. Each year, DPAA plans multiple investigations of loss sites in South Korea to collect evidence, 
                                        investigate leads, and conduct excavations.
                            
                            DPAA-SEALProgress on Korean War Personnel Accounting
                                                    Personnel Accounting
                                                    Korean War Ribbon
                                    In its three years, one month, and two days, some 3 million people from all involved belligerents died during the Korean War, making it the deadliest conflict of the Cold War era. The United States suffered approximately 36,500 casualties, making up over 90% of non-Korean UN losses. Of those, over 7,000 personnel remain unaccounted for.
                                            All laboratory cases from Korea are under the purview of the Korean War Identification Project, including unilateral turnovers (the K208 and K55), field recoveries (JROs), and cemetery disinterments (Punchbowl Unknowns), representing the largest identification project within the DPAA. Cases from Korea represent highly commingled human remains involving thousands of missing persons from varied proveniences, while the Korean War Identification Project highlights the challenges and successes of a multi-disciplinary approach involving historians, anthropologists, odontologists, and DNA and isotope specialists working with family members towards identification and resolution.
                                            Korean War Identification Project
                                            Korean War Disinterment Project
                                
                                DPAA-SEALKorean War POW/MIA
                                                    Korean War Ribbon
                                    POW March Routes and U.N. Cemeteries
                                            POW Camps in North Korea
                                            Major Remains Concentrations in North Korea
                                
                                DPAA-SEALKorean War Air Loss Maps
                                                    Air Loss Maps
                                                    Korean War Ribbon
                                    Korean War Air Loss MapsDPAA-SEALU.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs
                                USRJC on POW/MIAs
            U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs
                    Joint Commision Support Division
                    Through its Joint Commission Support Division (JCSD), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) provides administrative and analytic support to the U.S. Side of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs (USRJC) and conducts research in Russia on missing U.S. service personnel. JCSD also assists the Government of Russia with efforts to account for its missing.
                    USRJC POW/MIAsDPAA-SEALPersonnel Accounting Progress in China
                                China
            China Operations
                    Total Each Category
                    IdentifiedRemains repatriated through unilateral operations (2014)
                    1
                    0Remains repatriated through unilateral operations (1975)
                    2
                    2Remains recovered and repatriated through investigative and recovery operations since 1992
                    23
                    23Total remains identified 1975 to present
                    --
                    25
                    
                    
                    Personnel Accounting Progress in China
                                         
                                Korean War Facts & Figures
                                        Dates
                                                June 27, 1950 – July 27, 1953 
                                                Location
                                                Korean Peninsula
                                            
                                            Missing as of 1973*
                                                8157
                                                Accounted For**
                                                686
                                                Unaccounted For
                                                7471
                                            See Also: Defense Casualty Analysis System, Korean War
                                            
                                            *Casualty numbers are related to only those associated to our mission starting from 1973 to present and don't reflect the total number of missing from each conflict.
                                            
                                            **To respect the next-of-kin, individuals are only displayed as “Accounted For” in the grids and case profiles when (1) DPAA has made the identification, and (2) the next-of-kin has been notified.  
                                            
                                            Numbers that are not associated with individual names will continue to update as soon as an identification has been made.
  Search Missing Personnel
 Cpl CHARLES EUGENE BURBAUNIT: D CO 10 ENGR 3ID
                                        Cpl DONALD BROOKSUNIT:B BTRY 37 FA 21D
                                        Cpl GILBERTO GARZAUNIT: HM CO 31 REGT 7ID
                                        Cpl OTIS LEE BROOMEUNIT: B CO 1/7 REGT 1CAV
                                        Cpl ROBERT FRANK BRUNKEUNIT: A CO 1/9 REGT 2ID
                                        Cpl WILLIAM KENNETH HOLLANDUNIT: M CO 3/21 REGT 24ID
                                        Pfc ROBERT EARL GEDNEYUNIT: A CO 1/34 REGT 24ID
 Search Korean War Missing Personnel Profiles
 
 Explore Korean War Incidents
 Temp ImageBattle of Chosin ReservoirChosin
 Temp ImageBattle of UnsanUnsan
 Temp ImageKorean Air BattlesThe Air War in Korea
 Temp ImageThe Inchon CampaignInchon
 Temp ImageThe Pusan PerimeterPusan
 Temp ImageThe DMZ CampaignsThe DMZ
 Temp ImageOperation GloryOperation Glory
 Temp ImageKorean WarPOW Camps
  PAST AND CURRENT KOREAN WAR ACCOUNTING EFFORTS
 The search for remains in South Korea started before the armistice was signed in 1953, and since then, North Korean and U.S. military authorities have conducted exchanges of remains and information. From 1951 to 1956, 
                    the U.S. Army Graves Registration Service and divisional quartermaster units recovered remains for over 25,000 individuals. In 1954, North Korean representatives returned over 3,000 remains in an exchange known as Operation
                    Glory. The U.S. identified thousands of these remains
                    
                    In 1956, a total of 848 sets of remains that could not be identified were buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl. Others were added later as unknowns. One of the unknowns was
                    interred in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. Since the mid-1980s, the U.S. Department of Defense has authorized exhumations of unknowns for potential identification,
                    and starting in 2016, established policy to govern the disinternment of unknowns for identification. DPAA’s efforts to disinter and identify unknowns from the Korean War are ongoing
                    
                    Between 1990 and 1994, North Korean representatives gave U.S. officials 208 boxes of human remains that Department of Defense scientists estimate may hold remains of over 400 individuals. From 1996 to 2005, North Korea
                    granted U.S. search teams access to crash sites, battlefields, and prison camp cemeteries. Excavations done in those areas have resulted in the repatriation of over 220 U.S. remains. 
                    
                    Outside of disinterments and field activities, DPAA has conducted archival research and has collected oral histories from veterans. From 1997 to 1999, North Korea provided the U.S. with documents and artifacts for review.
                    In the U.S., Korean War veterans have been interviewed at reunions and other venues
                    
                    On July 27, 2018, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DRPK) turned over 55 boxes that reportedly contained the remains of U.S. servicemen killed during the Korean War. DPAA received the remains on August 1, 2018,
                    and efforts to identify these remains are ongoing.
 Johnnie Johnson List
 In October 1950, a North Korean Army major referred to as "The Tiger" took command of more than 700 American servicemen who had been captured and interned as POWs. In August 1953, following the signing of the armistice,
                    only 262 of these men returned alive. One of the survivors, Army Pfc. Wayne A. "Johnnie" Johnson, risked his life during his imprisonment by secretly recording the names of 496 fellow prisoners who had died during their captivity.
                    
                    DoD debriefed all returning American POWs concerning their knowledge of those who did not return from the Communist prison system. Johnson's painstakingly written record was a major contribution to this effort and
                    helped to determine or confirm the fate of many POWs.
                    
                    In 1995, a Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) analyst learned about Johnson's Tiger Survivors List while attending a Korean War Ex-POW reunion in Sacramento, California. DPMO analysts then located 
                    intelligence archives which contained Johnson's original debriefing report as well as other POW reports corroborating his information. Among these records a debriefer's handwritten memorandum recommending that Private
                    Johnson be recognized for his bravery. This information was forwarded to the Department of the Army, and in 1996, Johnson was awarded the Silver Star, the nation's third highest military combat decoration for valor.
                    
                    A document examiner was able to recover almost all the names from Johnson's original wartime list. Some entries, however, could not be saved. Thus, there are fewer than 496 names on the typed listing, which is available
                    on the Johnnie Johnson List page.
 How You Can Help
 To learn about how you can submit documentation about a case, send us your loved one’s photo, contact your Service Casualty Officer, or help in any other way, please 
            click here.
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