Arce, Cpl. Charles

July 20, 2011

U.S. SOLDIER MIA FROM KOREAN WAR IDENTIFIED

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Cpl. Charles Arce, 19, of Brooklyn, N.Y., will be buried July 20 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. On Nov. 1, 1950, Arce was assigned to M Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, occupying a defensive position in North Korea, along the Nammyon River, near a bend known as the “Camel’s Head.” Two enemy elements attacked the 1st Cavalry Division’s lines, collapsing their perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. Almost 400 men, including Arce, were reported missing or killed in action following the battle.

In 2007, North Korea gave the United States six boxes believed to contain the remains of U.S. servicemen. Information provided with the boxes indicated the remains were exhumed in November 2006 near Unsan County, North Pyongan Province. This location correlates with the location of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment on Nov. 2, 1950.

Among forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA – which matched that of Arce’s sister and brother—in the identification.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call (703) 699-1169.