The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced Wednesday that a serviceman, unaccounted for from the Korean War, has been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Army Lt. Col. Don C. Faith Jr. of Washington, Ind., a Medal of Honor recipient, will be buried April 17, in Arlington National Cemetery.
In late 1950, Faith’s 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, attached to the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), was advancing along the eastern side of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. From Nov. 27 to Dec. 1, 1950, the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) encircled and attempted to overrun the U.S. position. During this series of attacks, Faith’s commander went missing, and Faith assumed command of the 31st RCT. As the battle continued, the 31st RCT, which came to be known as “Task Force Faith,” was forced to withdraw south along Route 5 to a more defensible position. During the withdrawal, Faith continuously rallied his troops, and personally led an assault on a CPVF position.
Records compiled after the battle of the Chosin Reservoir, to include eyewitness reports from survivors of the battle, indicated that Faith was seriously injured by shrapnel on Dec. 1, 1950, and subsequently died from those injuries on Dec. 2, 1950. His body was not recovered by U.S. forces at that time. Faith was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor – the United States’ highest military honor – for personal acts of exceptional valor during the battle.
Faith’s Medal of Honor: Read the citation
In 2004, a joint U.S. and Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (D.P.R.K) team surveyed the area where Faith was last seen. His remains were located and returned to the U.S. for identification.
Lt. Col. Faith served in the military from 1941 – 1950. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II.
Lt. Col. Faith’s Awards: Medal of Honor; Silver Star Medal (2); Bronze Star Medal (3); Purple Heart (2), Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Presidential Unit Citation, Korean War Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge.
To identify Faith’s remains, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used circumstantial evidence, compiled by DPMO and JPAC researchers, and forensic identification tools, such as dental comparison. They also used mitochondrial DNA – which matched Faith’s brother.
Today, more than 7,900 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously turned over by North Korean officials or recovered from North Korea by American teams
Remains of other men from the 31st Regimental Combat team were also recently identified:
Cpl. Billy M. McIntrye, U.S. Army, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 31st Regimental Combat Team, was lost on Dec. 7, 1950, near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. He was accounted for on Feb. 27, 2013. He will be buried with full military honors in the summer of 2013, near Carter, Oklahoma.
Cpl. Robert W. Scott, 19, U.S. Army, 31st Regimental Combat Team, was lost Dec. 1, 1950 near the Chosin Reservoir on Dec. 1, 1950. He was accounted for on Jan. 16, 2013.
Cpl. Robert G. Archer, 19, U.S, Army, Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 31st Regimental Combat Team, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, was lost on Dec. 2, 1950, near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. He was accounted for on Jan. 14, 2013.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office website or call (703) 699-1169
Local vet returns home: Army Master Sgt. Clifford Ryan was killed in action during the Korean War on Nov. 1, 1950. His remains – unrecoverable for nearly 50 years and not identified for some time thereafter, returned to the Coachella Valley on Sept. 6, 2012.
