Missing Korean War Marine Identified

Marine Corps Pfc. Jonathan R. Posey Jr., 20, of Dallas, will be buried Aug. 12 in Arlington National Cemetery. In December 1950, Posey, assigned to L Battery, 4th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, was serving provisionally as an infantryman with the 7th Marine Regiment at Yudam-ni in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir. On Dec. 2, 1950 Posey was killed in action while the 5th and 7th Marine Regiments were withdrawing to Hagaru-ri.


In 1954, United Nations and Communist Forces exchanged the remains of war dead in what came to be called "Operation Glory." All remains recovered in Operation Glory were turned over to the Army Central Identification Unit for analysis. Those that were unable to be identified were interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii, known as the "Punchbowl."

In 2012, analysts from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command reevaluated Posey's records and determined that portions of the remains recovered from Operation Glory should be exhumed for identification. To identify the remains, scientists from JPAC used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, such as dental and radiograph comparison, which matched Posey's records.

Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously recovered from North and South Korea. More than 7,900 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War.