Remains of young Connecticut soldier killed in Korean War identified
Remains of a U.S. Army soldier from Connecticut who was killed on a frozen battlefield 71 years ago have been identified, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday.
Cpl. Benjamin R. Bazzell, 18, of Seymour, was killed in action during the Korean War on Nov. 30, 1950, at the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. His remains are to be buried at a date to be determined, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Bazzell served with the 7th Infantry Division’s 57th Field Artillery Battalion, part of the ill-fated Task Force MacLean. His remains could not be recovered after the battle, but in July 2018 after a summit between former President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea turned over 55 boxes purportedly containing remains of American service members killed during the war.
The remains were sent to a laboratory at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where scientists used DNA analysis, circumstantial evidence and anthropological analysis to positively identify Bazzell, officials said.
Bazzell’s name is recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for, U.S. officials said.
Of 7,554 U.S. personnel unaccounted for in the Korean War, 602 have been identified and accounted for, according to the DOD (bit.ly/3lKW078).
The Battle of the Chosin Reservoir was among the fiercest fights in U.S. history. In late November 1950, American and various United Nations forces had moved deep into North Korea, hoping to launch a final assault and end the war.
But hundreds of thousands of Chinese forces swept south in a surprise attack on U.S. Marine and Army units along both sides of the frozen Chosin Reservoir. Bazzell’s unit was part of Task Force MacLean on the eastern side, which suffered thousands of casualties during a hard-fought retreat in bitter cold.
“Many historians now agree that Task Force MacLean blocked the Chinese drive along the eastern side of Chosin for five days and allowed the Marines along the west side to withdraw into Hagaru-ri.” according to an account of the battle, “Nightmare at the Chosin Reservoir,” by Matthew J. Seelinger at armyhistory.org.
“Furthermore, the task force destroyed the (Communist Chinese Forces) 80th Division.” Seelinger wrote. “In recognition of their bravery, Task Force MacLean/Faith was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation in September 1999.”
