A Korean War Army Veteran will be laid to rest on November 4 after his remains were missing for more than 50 years.
The Department of Defense says Army Corporal Roy Fink, 20, has been accounted for and identified after his remains were recovered in 2001.
In November 1950, Fink was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
At the time, Fink was deployed east of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, along with about 2,500 U.S. and 700 South Korean soldiers, when it was engaged by overwhelming numbers of Chinese forces. Fink was among the 1,700 soldiers who were either captured or killed in enemy territory.
When he could not be accounted for by his unit at the end of the battle, Fink was reported missing in action as of December 2, 1950.
In the following years, Fink was not listed on any prisoner of war lists and no evidence could be found of his whereabouts. The U.S. Army declared him deceased as of December 31, 1953.
During the 25th Joint Recovery Operation in 2001, recovery teams looked on the eastern bank of the Chosin Reservoir, Changjin County, North Korea. The excavation recovered possible human remains of at least seven individuals.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial and anthropological evidence to help identify Fink's remains. They also used DNA analysis which matched a nephew.
