17-year-old American soldier missing in the Korean War was explained

A 17-year-old soldier killed during the Korean War has been occupied for 75 years after his disappearance, officials said Monday.

Army CPL. The Defense Pow/MIA Accounting Agency said in a press release that Albert J. Estrada was a member of the 57th Artillery Battalion of the 31st Legion Combat Team of the 7th Infantry Division. According to the Korea Veterans Memorial Foundation, he began serving in July 1950. The DPAA said he was one of thousands of soldiers at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in November and December 1950.

During the battle, 30,000 UN soldiers, including U.S. soldiers, fought against 120,000 Chinese and North Korean enemy troops in the “raddy terrain” “in cold weather,” the DPAA said. The DPAA described it as one of the most brutal battles in the entire war, lasting 17 days.

Army officials want to push North Korean troops to China and have a serious supply line near Chosin Reservoir, the DPAA said. But North Korean troops launched an assault attack, forcing a group of soldiers to retreat in late November. A few days later, Chinese soldiers surrounded and isolated another group of soldiers. A task force gathered in a hurry to try to organize the evacuation. According to the U.S. military, a “fever battle” allowed UN forces to introduce reinforcements and evacuate casualties on December 1, and eventually, UN soldiers underwent a full retreat.

Over 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers were killed during this time, the DPAA said. Thousands of people were injured or lost in cold weather. Due to elements and retreats, “hundreds of fallen Marines and soldiers cannot be recovered immediately,” DPAA said.

Estrada was one of the soldiers that could not be found after the war. The DPAA said he was reportedly missing on December 6, 1950. There is no information that he was once considered a prisoner of war. Three years later, on December 31, 1953, the U.S. Army issued a presumptive death discovery.

Between 1953 and 1954, the North Korean government returned the remains of thousands of soldiers who died during the Korean War. The remains were buried in the United Nations cemetery in North Korea. The effort, called Operation Glory, includes the return of 500 bodies buried near the Chosin reservoir. All except for 126 remains have been confirmed. The DPAA said the unidentified body was buried in the Pacific National Memorial Cemetery.

From 1990 to 1994, the North Korean government also returned 47 remains attributed to the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. From these recovery efforts, the DPAA and previous organizations were able to identify more than 130 unspecified missing persons lost in the Chosin Reservoir movement.

The DPAA did not say which body was recovered from which Estrada was handed over. The agency said his accounting notice will be shared later.

According to the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation, Estrada received several military honors, including the Purple Heart Medal, the Ministry of Defense Medal and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.

According to a 2018 article by Estrada, Estrada’s surviving siblings, Manuel Estrada and Ruth Tucker, have long lobbyed for his proof of identity. That year, Tucker received a medal from the Republic of Korea for her efforts to the missing American soldiers who died during the Korean War. At that time, Tucker said Complete ID card The remains of the Korean War could take four to five years.