Korean War soldier laid to rest after 66 years as an “unknown”

KAYCEE, WY, UNITED STATES

06.24.2019

Story by William Costello 

U.S. Army Human Resources Command

FORT KNOX, Ky. — A burial service with full military honors is set for a U.S. Army soldier who died fighting North Korean forces 66 years ago.

Army Cpl. DeMaret M. Kirtley, 19, a native of Kaycee, Wyoming, will be buried Saturday in his hometown.

Kirtley was a member of Battery A, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 6, 1950 after being last seen in the vicinity of Hamgyeong Province, North Korea and declared deceased on December 31, 1953.

Kirtley’s remains were among 2,944 others returned to the United Nations Command in 1954 and later buried at the National Military Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii as “Unknowns.” On May 8, 2017 he was disinterred and positively identified on May 4, 2018.

Scientists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis, dental and anthropological analysis, and material and circumstantial evidence to identify him.

For more information about this service, contact Kane Funeral Home, 307-673-5837.

• Date Taken: 06.24.2019
• Date Posted: 06.24.2019 08:58
• Story ID: 328877
• Location: KAYCEE, WY, US
• Hometown: KAYCEE, WY, US