An Arkansas soldier who was reported missing during the Korean War nearly 70 years ago will be buried in his hometown later this month, officials said Tuesday.
Army Cpl. Jerry M. Garrison, of Lamar, was 21 when he was reported missing on Dec. 2, 1950, after enemy soldiers attacked his unit near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. Garrison was a member of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, according to a news release by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
According to Garrison’s personnel profile, the serviceman died at some point after his disappearance, but further details aren’t known.
On July 27, 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes containing the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War following a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un the previous month, the agency said.
Those remains were brought to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the release states. Scientists there used modern forensic tools, and Garrison's remains were identified on Aug. 7.
The remains of 7,609 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War, according to the agency. However, the release states modern technology and techniques such as anthropological and mitochondrial DNA analysis allow scientists to continue identifying those who are still missing.
Garrison will be buried Oct. 22 in Lamar, according to the agency. His name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, and a rosette will be placed next to his name as an indication that he has been found.