Korean War Missing in Action Serviceman Identified

Ahhh. It is always good at the Echo9er Blog to post these "Good News!" stories.

After more tha 50 years the Family, Friends, and Comrades of Private First Class Lowell W. Bellar can finally close this chapter of their lives and open another.

PFC Bellar's unit was surrounded and overrun by Chinese Communist forces near the Chosin Reservoir in northeast North Korea. Records compiled after the battle indicate that Bellar was killed in action Dec. 1, 1950.

Welcome home PFC Bellar and may God bless you and your family.

DoD Release #: 661-05

Korean War Missing in Action Serviceman Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. Army soldier, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial in Schererville, Ind.

He is Pfc. Lowell W. Bellar of Gary, Ind. He is to be buried on July 15, the date of his birth in 1931.

In November - December 1950, Bellar’s unit, Company M, 31st Infantry Regiment, was surrounded and overrun by Chinese Communist forces near the Chosin Reservoir in northeast North Korea. Elements of his unit joined other U.S. forces in the breakout and fighting retreat to relative safety further south to an area near the village of Hagaru. Regimental records compiled after the battle indicate that Bellar was killed in action Dec. 1, 1950. More than 1,000 men, primarily Marines and Army soldiers, are still missing in North Korea from the Chosin campaign.

Joint U.S.-North Korean recovery teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) excavated a site in North Korea in September 2001, and again in October, that was believed to be the location where American soldiers were buried. They recovered remains believed to be those of 12 individuals, some of which were later identified as those of Bellar.

Laboratory analysis of the remains by forensic scientists at JPAC led to Bellar’s identification. Comparisons of Bellar’s mitochondrial DNA data with samples from his family were key factors in their finding.

Of the 88,000 Americans unaccounted for from all conflicts, approximately 8,100 are from the Korean War. Remains believed to be those of more than 220 American servicemen have been recovered in joint operations in North Korea since 1996.

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

Update - July 15, 2005.

I received this email from a Sergeant who played Taps at this funeral.

SGM,

I played Taps at this funeral today. It was a very nice service, and the funeral team, and everyone involved did a great job of honoring this fallen soldier so long after his passing. It was great to see so much care taken in spite of the years that have passed.

It was so nice to hear from someone that attended the service. Thank you, SGT, for your selfless service to our country and to our fallen heroes.