Remains of Korean War soldier from Georgia ID'ed more than 70 years after death

Miguel Legoas, Augusta Chronicle
·2 min read
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U.S. Army Master Sgt. Roy E. Barrow of Valdosta, GA was killed during the Korean War.
U.S. Army Master Sgt. Roy E. Barrow of Valdosta, GA was killed during the Korean War.

After being reported missing in the Korean War more than 70 years ago, a soldier is finally coming home.

The remains of U.S. Army Master Sgt. Roy E. Barrow, from Valdosta were accounted, for on Sept. 22, according to a news release from the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency on Wednesday.

Barrow, 39, was a member of King Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 12, 1950 after his unit was attacked during a withdrawal near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.

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In 1954, as part of Operation Glory, North Korea turned over some remains designated Unknown X-15869 to the U.S. They could not be identified as Barrow and he was declared non-recoverable in 1956. The remains were buried as an 'unknown' at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

In 2013, DPAA disinterred X-15869 and used more advanced techniques like chest radiograph comparison, dental and anthropological analysis, and mitochondrial DNA analysis to positively ID the remains as Barrow's.

His funeral and cremation services are being handled by McLane Funeral and Cremation Services. According to his obituary, Barrow's remains will be escorted from Hawaii by his great grandson Sgt. Joseph Padgett for a funeral at 2 p.m. Jan. 27 at the River Pavilion at McLane Riverview Memorial Gardens in Valdosta. The procession to the cemetery will begin at Carson McLane Funeral Home at 1 p.m.

Survivors include his daughter Gloria Johnson, son-in-law Wendell Johnson, one granddaughter, and two grandsons, nine great grandchildren, six great great grandchildren, one niece and one nephew. Loved ones who precede Barrow in death include his wife Louise, his granddaughter Laura Kathleen Harrell Potter, five brothers, and two sisters.

Barrow is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Remains of soldier from Valdosta, Georgia ID'ed 70+ years after death