Soldier Missing in Action from the Korean War is Identified

No. 188-07 February 16, 2007
Soldier Missing in Action from the Korean War is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is U.S. Army Cpl. Jimmie L. Dorser of Springfield, Mo. He will be buried tomorrow in Lake Forest, Calif.

Representatives from the Army met with Dorser's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.

Dorser was a member of I Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division (organized into the 31st Regimental Combat Team). The RCT was engaged against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces along the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea from Nov. 27-Dec. 1, 1950. The unit was forced to retreat to the south and many men were reported missing in action under the intense enemy fire.

In 2002, a joint U.S. and Democratic People's Republic of North Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, excavated a mass grave on the eastern side of the Chosin Reservoir. The remains of five individuals were recovered.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in Dorser's identification. The additional remains cannot be attributed to specific individuals at this time and will undergo further analysis.

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.