20 year old Palmer man killed in Korean War identified 70 years later

WASHINGTON, DC. (WZMQ) – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Cpl. Gordon D. McCarthy, 20, Palmer, Michigan, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Feb. 13, 2023.

In late 1950, McCarthy was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1^st Battalion, 32^nd Infantry Regiment, 7^th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.

On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.

To identify McCarthy’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

McCarthy’s name is recorded on the 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.

McCarthy will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on date yet to be determined.

For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.

To see the most up-to-date statistics on DPAA recovery efforts for those unaccounted for from the Korean War, go to the Korean War fact sheet on the DPAA website at: https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/KoreanWar/PersonnelAccounting.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find the department on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa  or call (703) 699-1420/1169.