Another Korean War soldier identified from remains returned by North Korea

SEDGWICK, Kan. — The remains of Korean War soldier from Kansas have been identified nearly seven decades after his death.

A Defense Department agency that’s tasked with accounting for missing troops announced Tuesday in a news release that the remains are those of Sgt. James Ernest Smith Jr. of Sedgwick.

He was reported missing in November 1950 after enemy forces attacked his unit near Kujang-dong, North Korea. Several returning American POWs said Smith died several months later at a temporary prisoner of war camp. He was just 21.

Last year, North Korea turned over 55 boxes of purported human remains. And in August, scientists identified Smith’s remains, in part through a DNA analysis.

The release says Smith’s remains will be buried at Arlington Cemetery, although the date hasn’t been determined.