The remains of a U.S. serviceman, Army Cpl. Wayne Minard, of Furley, Kansas, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors, announced the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). Minard was only 19 when he died during service in the Korean War.
Minard was buried in early November in Wichita, Kansas. He was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. This division was fighting units of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) in North Korea in late November 1950, in a delaying action.
On November 25, when the regiment was located in defense positions near the Chongchon River, the enemy forces launched a large-scale attack with heavy artillery and mortar fire.
By the following day, enemy fighting had isolated the unit, and they were ordered to retreat. Minard had been reported missing in action since November 26, 1950, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency reported.
His name was not on any POW list provided by the North Korean People’s Army or the CPVF. However, two returned American prisoners of war stated that Minard passed away February 16, 1951, at Hof Camp. Using this information, a military review board corrected Minard’s status to deceased.
A Joint Recovery Team in April and May of 2005, visited a North Korean site in Unsan County, South Pyongan Province. The team visited a site said to contain American remains by a local witness.
Currently, 7,784 Americans remain missing from the Korean conflict.