Korean War veteran finally laid to rest in Oregon

Portland, Ore. – 66 years after he was declared missing, a Korean War veteran was laid to rest in Oregon Monday.

KGW reports the ceremony was something the family of Army Corporal Edward Pool thought they’d never see.

In November 1950, Pool was wounded and captured as a prisoner of war during the Battle of the Chosin River. He froze to death in January 1951.

Pool’s family didn’t know the soldier’s ultimate fate, as he was buried in a mass grave.

In the early 1990s, North Korea returned over 200 boxes of mixed human remains of U.S. service members.

In November, a Department of Defense representative notified Pool’s family his remains were finally identifed using DNA analysis.

Pool’s memorial was conducted with full military honors and his family was presented with several medals, including The Purple Heart and a National Defense Medal.

Korean War veteran Don Mason told KGW “It’s still a very big job to get the rest of these boys back.”

Over 7,000 Korean War veterans are still unaccounted for.

You can learn more about the search for Korean War MIA/POW identification here: https://www.koreanwar.org/html/finding_the_families.html