The remains of a US Army officer reported missing in action during the Korean War have been identified and will be returned home, military officials confirmed Wednesday.
1st Lt. Thomas J. Redgate, who hailed from Boston, was reported missing on December 11, 1950 after his unit was attacked during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
Now, 70 years later, Redgate will be finally be laid to rest at the veterans' cemetery in Bourne, Massachusetts - 60 miles south of his home city.
Regate, who was 24 years old, was a member of Battery A, 48th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division when he went missing.
The exact details surrounding his loss were not known, and his remains could not be recovered at the time.
But in July 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea turned over 55 boxes that purportedly contained the remains of American service members killed during the war.
North Korea had allegedly been holding on to the boxes for decades.
In July 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea turned over 55 boxes that purportedly contained the remains of American service members killed during the war
US Marines are pictured in winter gear as they fight during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. That battle - considered to be one of the most important in the Korean War took place between 27 November – 13 December 1950. During that time, 1,029 Americans were killed and a further 4,894 were reported missing
The remains were subsequently examined by DPAA (Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency) in Hawaii.
Based on anthropological analysis, as well as DNA and circumstantial evidence, one set was determined to be Redgate's.
Redgate was officially accounted for in April 2020, but the public announcement about his remains was not made until this week because his family only recently received a full briefing of his identification.
Redgate’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, and a rosette will now be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
US Soldiers are pictured searching for snipers during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. It was one of the most savage skirmishes of the Korean War
However, he is not the only US soldier who fought in the Korean War and whose remains have recently been identified.
Remains of Army Pfc. Louis N. Crosby were also identified by the DPAA last year after they were similarly handed over to the US by North Korea last year.
The 18-year-old - who hailed from Orangeburg, South Carolina - is set to be formally laid to rest in his hometown on August 18.
Like Redgate, Crosby also vanished during the Battle of Chosin, which took place in present day Changjin County, North Korea.
That battle - considered to be one of the most important in the Korean War took place between 27 November – 13 December 1950.
During that time, 1,029 Americans were killed and a further 4,894 were reported missing.
Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump are seen together in June 2018
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