A Hilo man who served in the Korean War has been identified 70 years after his death.
Today, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that Army Cpl. Wilfred K. Hussey, Jr. was 19 when he was reported missing in action on Dec. 12, 1950, in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces.
Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.
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To identify Hussey’s remains, scientists from DPAA used circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Today, 7,605 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by Korean officials, recovered from Korea by American recovery teams or disinterred from unknown graves. Hussey’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Hussey will be buried in his hometown. The date has yet to be determined.
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