The remains of a teenage soldier from New Jersey who went missing during the Korean War will be buried next month at Arlington National Cemetery.
Army Pfc. Richard Lucas’ remains were recently identified after the then-17-year-old was reported missing in action on November 26, 1950.
The Monmouth resident was serving with Company C, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, which was located in defensive positions in an area northeast of Kujang, North Korea.
In August and September 2002, a joint recovery operation located remains at a site in the North Pyongan province of North Korea, which was believed to have been a temporary prison camp.
Army Pfc. Richard A. Lucas (above) went missing during the Korean War in 1950 aged 17. His remains were recently identified after being found in the North Pyongan province of North Korea
Scientists used DNA analysis to confirm a match with the soldier’s family and dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records and circumstantial evidence.
Interment services for Lucas are pending.
His remains are not the first to be recovered and identified from the site in the North Pyongan province.
Last month Army Cpl. Daniel F. Kelly of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was buried in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania.
Lucas is set to be buried in November at Arlington National Cemetery (file above). Scientists used DNA analysis to confirm a match with the soldier’s family and dental and anthropological analysis, which matched his records and circumstantial evidence
The 18-year-old was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, when his unit was ordered to advance as part of preparations for an offensive to push the North Koreans to the Yalu River along the border of North Korea and China, according to a statement from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
Kelly was declared missing in action on November 26, 1950 when he could not be accounted for during a battle.
He was not listed on any CPVF or Korean People’s Army Prisoners of War lists. But one American prisoner of war who returned said that Kelly had died at the camp known as ‘Death Valley’ in March of 1951.