PYEONGTAEK, South Korea (AP) – Decades after the end of the Korean War in 1953, the remains of dozens of presumed U.S. war dead were on their way Wednesday to Hawaii for analysis and identification. The U.S. military believes the bones are those of U.S. servicemen and potentially servicemen from other United Nations member countries who fought alongside the U.S. on behalf of South Korea during the war.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and the commander of U.S. forces in Asia, Adm. Phil Davidson, were expected to speak at a ceremony marking the arrival of the remains on U.S. soil and the beginning of a long process to identify the bones.
North Korea handed over the remains last week. A U.S. military plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve the 55 cases.
About 7,700 U.S. soldiers are listed as missing from the 1950-53 Korean War and about 5,300 of the remains are believed to still be in North Korea.
Hanwell Kaakimaka’s uncle, John Kaakimaka, is among those who never came home.