Korean war soldier reported missing in action identified

A soldier who was reported missing in the Korean War has been accounted for, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Army Cpl. Donald L. Dupont, 22, was a member of B Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action while fighting the enemy near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, on Dec. 2, 1950. According to a release from the accounting agency, Dupont’s remains could not be recovered after the battle.

There is no evidence to indicate Dupont was ever held a prisoner of war, according to the agency.

It is not clear how the agency located or identified Dupont’s remains, but the agency works to recover missing service members from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and other conflicts.

In 2018, North Korea transferred dozens of boxes of remains for identification in the U.S. At that time, nearly 7,700 American service members were listed as unaccounted for from the Korean War. The accounting agency also conducts investigations at loss sites in South Korea in order to collect evidence and conduct excavations.

The remains of more than 450 Americans killed in the Korean War have been identified and returned to their families for burial since 1982.