Remains of missing Korean War soldier, a Detroit native, to be buried in Holly
Army Pfc. James L. Miller was just 21 years old when he was killed in action July 30, 1950, during the Korean War. His remains were declared unrecoverable and were interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii with other unknowns from the Korean War.
Thursday, more than 70 years later, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that Miller was finally coming home.
A Detroit native, Miller will be laid to rest at Great Lakes National Cemetery, Holly, Michigan on Aug. 25.
The young soldier fought in the Korean War as a member of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division.
The 24th Infantry was created in 1869 and its troops were among the first U.S. troops deployed to Korea in late June 1950 at the start of the Korean War. Though U.S. armed forces were officially desegregated in 1948, the 24th Infantry Regiment remained almost entirely Black with the exception of officer corps, who were both European and African American.
Miller's unit helped defend the town of Sangju in late July 1950. The area was so difficult to reach that it took a five-hour car ride to supply the unit, according to according to the book "Black Soldier, White Army: The 24th Infantry Regiment in Korea" by William T. Bowers, William M. Hammond and George L. MacGarrigle and in association with the Center for Military History.
In addition to a lack of provisions and significant casualties, the regiment faced the growing North Korean threats alone, yet valiantly held North Korean forces at bay during the early morning the day Miller died. The defense, however, was ultimately unsuccessful.
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Following the battle, Miller's remains could not be recovered and were officially declared unrecoverable Jan. 16, 1956.
Recovery efforts, however, had begun in the fall of 1950 after the U.S. Army regained control of Sanju and remains were temporarily interred at the United Nations Military Cemetery in Taejon.
Miller was one of more than 7,500 Americans unaccounted for from the Korean War and over 81,000 U.S. soldiers missing from all conflicts combined.
The DPAA calls it "our nation's duty" to identify these missing soldiers and give families the closure of finding their loved ones on their website. In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
One set of remains, designated Unknown X-5156, had previously been declared unidentifiable and buried at the cemetery, according to a press release from the DPAA.
On Nov. 4, 2019, the DPAA exhumed the remains of Unknown x-5156 from the cemetery and sent them to their laboratory for analysis.
On Nov. 28, 2022, the DPAA identified Unknown x-5156 as Army Pfc. James L. Miller using chest radiograph comparison as well as dental, anthropological and mitochondrial DNA analysis.
Miller's name is currently recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific along with the others still missing from the Korean War.
Now identified, a rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been found.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Army Pfc. James L. Miller to be buried in Holly
