Plea for DNA to help identify unknown Korean War Dead

Did you lose relatives in the Korean War? If you did and their bodies were never found, the recent rapprochement with Pyongyang might offer closure.

While most British casualties – 885 souls – were eventually laid to rest in the impressive United Nations cemetery at Busan in South Korea – visited only a matter of weeks ago by the ship’s company of HMS Albion – the bodies of nearly 300 Britons remain unaccounted for.

Under the agreement signed by President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un, remains of troops who fought under the banner of the United Nations, are being recovered and returned to the US for identification.

These remains may include UK casualties. DNA samples will be used to support identification over the next few years to pick out any British dead from among them.

Those remains formally identified will be buried with full military honours at the United Nations cemetery in Busan; the MOD intends to cover costs for immediate family members to attend.

At least five Royal Navy carriers, plus escorts, provided air support throughout the conflict; it was Fleet Air Arm, not the RAF, which offered fighter cover in Korean skies, while Royal Marines of 41 Commando saw extensive action on the ground, especially in the withdrawal from the Choisin Reservoir; it lost 31 dead and 17 men taken prisoner during the 15 months the unit was committed on the peninsula.

Family members of those missing personnel who have no known grave are asked to call the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre on 01452 854622 / 855258.