Know Any Missing Vets
from the Korean War?

The Department of Defense and the four military services are mounting an intense public outreach effort to locate family members of servicemen who remain unaccounted for from the Korean War.

According to Tom Perry, Chief of the Air Force Missing Persons Branch, “We have begun to open some doors in North Korea, and we need to re-establish contact with the families of our unaccounted-for servicemen.”

As a result of two negotiated agreements, the U.S. has conducted four joint operations inside North Korea during 1996 and 1997 to seek answers and to locate and recover the remains of U.S. servicemen lost during the war.

In the four operations, the remains of what are believed to be seven American soldiers have been recovered. One has already been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Perry added, “As we’re able to obtain additional circumstance of loss information or recover remains from North Korea, we’ll need to inform the families. Unfortunately, in some cases nearly 45 years have elapsed since the Air Force has had contact with many of our families. We need to know who the primary next-of-kin is to aid in future identifications.”

Family members of any unaccounted-for Korea-era servicemen are asked to provide their name, address and relationship of their loved one as soon as possible to the appropriate service casualty office.

Air Force families can call toll-free (800) 531-5501 or write via e-mail (POW0MIA@HQ.AFPC.AF.MIL). The Army’s toll free number is (800) 892-2490; the Navy number is (800) 443-9298; and the Marine Corps’ number is (800)847-1597.