The remains of a missing a U.S. serviceman who served in the Korean War have been identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
Army Cpl. Jules Hauterman had been a medic with the Medical Platoon, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, and 7th Infantry Division. His unit was linked to the 31st Regimental Combat Team as one of its infantry battalions for the mission.
The 31st RCT advanced to take up positions on the east side of the Chosin River. For three days and four nights, the unit fought the 80th Division of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces.
The 31st RCT eventually made a fighting withdraw south for safety at the Marine Base located in Hagaru-ri. The convoy was ultimately destroyed by the CPVF, and while some escaped across the frozen reservoir, over 1,300 were killed or taken prisoner.
After the battle, Hauterman could not be accounted for and he was reported missing in action as of Dec. 2, 1950.
The North Korean People’s Army and CPVF and periodically supplied lists of prisoners of war during the war, but none listed Hauterman.
In addition, no repatriated American prisoners of war reported having any information regarding Hauterman as a prisoner of war. Given the lack of information regarding his status, the U.S. Army declared him deceased.
On Sept. 15, 1954, a set of remains purportedly recovered from the East Chosin Reservoir were forwarded to the Central Identification Laboratory in Kokura, Japan and tried to make identification possible.
The remains, identified as X-15904, in 1955 were declared unidentifiable, and transferred to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific located in Honolulu.
On June 13, 2016, the remains identified as “Unknown X-15904” were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency reported.
Circumstantial evidence and Laboratory analysis and were used in the identification of his remains.
Internment services are pending.