WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- The Defense Department Wednesday said the body of a U.S. serviceman missing in action since the Korean War will be returned to his family.
Defense officials said the body of Army Sgt. Charles P. Whitler will be buried Thursday in his hometown of Cloverport, Ky.
Whitler disappeared in November 1950 while assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment near Unsan by the Kuryong River in an area known as the "Camel's Head." He was one of 10 Americans captured in battle, seven of whom were shot following a debriefing. An eighth died later.
Whitler's body was recovered from a mass grave in May 2004 along with the bodies of six other soldiers. Identification was made through comparison of mitochondrial DNA from Whitler's sister and niece.
More than 2,000 servicemen died as prisoners of war during the Korean War. More than 8,000 troops remain missing.
