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Remains of US soldier who went missing in Korean war laid to rest after 75 years
TL;DR
The remains of US soldier Sgt Celestino Chavez Jr, missing since the Korean War, were identified and laid to rest in Gallup, New Mexico, after 75 years. His burial follows a lengthy identification process that began in 2018 after North Korea returned remains to the US.
Key points
- Sgt Celestino Chavez Jr went missing during the Korean War.
- His remains were identified through DNA analysis.
- Chavez was laid to rest in Gallup, New Mexico.
- He was awarded the Silver Star posthumously.
- The identification process began after a 2018 summit with North Korea.
Mentioned in this story
Celestino Chavez JrDefense POW/MIA Accounting AgencyGallupNorth Korea
Korean War
The remains of a US soldier who went missing in action during the Korean war were identified by DNA analysis, and he was recently laid to rest in his hometown of Gallup, New Mexico, authorities said.
US army Sgt Celestino Chavez Jr’s burial ended a decades-long saga that began with him being wounded while defending his post near the Changjin (Chosin) Reservoir in North Korea and then being taken to an aid station on 30 November 1950. Chavez, 19, was then reported missing in action three days later, when enemy fighters attacked his convoy.
As the army neither received information indicating that he was held as a prisoner of war nor evidence of his survival, officials issued a “presumptive finding of death” on 31 December of that same year. Chavez later posthumously received the US military’s Silver Star for continuing to defend his position despite his injuries, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
But it wasn’t until 2018 that a process began that culminated in Chavez’s return home. That year, Donald Trump – then in his first US presidency – met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. And one month after that summit, North Korea sent the US more than 55 boxes “purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean war”, the DPAA said.
After the remains’ arrival at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, the DPAA started working to identify them. DPAA scientists used “anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence” in efforts to identify the remains, and investigators from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System employed various DNA analyses.
The DPAA deemed Chavez as accounted for on 15 April 2025.
More recently, officials provided Chavez’s family a compete briefing on his identification. He was then buried on 15 April – one year from his being accounted for – in his home town of Gallup while “surrounded by family, senior military leaders and state officials honoring his service and sacrifice”, New Mexico’s national guard said.
Q&A
Who was Sgt Celestino Chavez Jr and why was he significant?
Sgt Celestino Chavez Jr was a US soldier who went missing in action during the Korean War and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his bravery.
How were the remains of the soldier identified after 75 years?
The remains were identified through DNA analysis and anthropological methods conducted by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
What led to the return of American soldiers' remains from North Korea?
The return of remains was initiated after a 2018 summit between then-President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, where North Korea sent over 55 boxes of purported remains.
