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Remains ID’d as soldier MIA since 1950

WASHINGTON — The remains of a South Texas soldier missing in action since 1950 in the Korean War have been recovered and identified.

The Defense Department announced Thursday that the remains of Master Sgt. Cirildo Valencio of Carrizo Springs will be returned to his family.

Services are planned Aug. 4 at Arlington National Cemetery, Va.

DNA testing helped identify Valencio, who was assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.

Military officials say Valencio was one of the more than 350 servicemen unaccounted for after the November 1950 battle at Unsan. Chinese Communist forces had attacked the Americans.

A burial site south of Unsan was excavated in 2002, with human remains recovered.

Carrizo Springs is about 115 miles southwest of San Antonio.