Piece by piece by piece.
The return from North Korea of 55 boxes of Korean War remains is only the beginning of the end for those casualties and their families still waiting more than six decades later.
Now begins likely years of battlefield forensics and DNA testing by military technicians in Hawaii and Delaware to bring some kind of closure to the families of the 5,300 Americans listed as missing in North Korea from the 36-month war that began with the North’s invasion in June 1950. Another 2,400 went missing in fighting throughout the South.
Identification of remains recovered from the Vietnam War is still ongoing. By comparison, some 79,000 Americans were listed as missing from World War II.
U. S. officials said initial examinations of the latest bones and bone fragments indicated they had European or African ancestry, likely meaning they are American. But they may also belong to fallen of the 16 other nations that fought as allies in that conflict under the United Nations flag, countries such as Britain, Canada and Australia.
The 55 boxes came with one set of dog tags. That soldier’s identity was not released, although his family was notified and told his remains may or may not be included.
The boxes also contained bits of old U. S. military equipment such as canteens, helmets and boots and descriptions by North Korea of where they were found. That will be a big help narrowing down identities from battle casualty reports from that area.
Now begins the long, painstaking process of identification using dental records, DNA samples and other identifying information such as chest X-rays that were routine for military recruits during that era.
