Clem R. Boody, U.S. Army, Fallen Korean War Soldier Comes Home

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a Korean War MIA, Cpl. Clem R. Boody, of Independence, Iowa, have been found, 57 years after he fell in battle for his country.

In a meeting with Boody's relatives, U. S. Army representatives explained how he was found and identified. They will coordinate, with the family, his burial with military honors. The remains are being returned and the family is planning his burial.

Early in 1950, Boody was with the Headquarters Company of the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. The unit was in a defensive line close to Unsan, North Korea, to the north of a curve in the Kuryong River called the Camel's Head. On 1 November, Chinese communist units, elements of two divisions, attacked the 1st Cavalry Division's positions. The 1st Cav. was heavily outnumbered. The lines collapsed and the division had to retreat. On November 2, 1950, Boody was listed as missing, along with 350 other U. S. servicemen.

57 years later, the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea, with the help of Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Anthony Principi, former U. S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, returned the remains of Boody, along with other remains believed to be Americans. These remains were found in North Pyongan Province, near Unsan.

Boody's remains were identified using mitochondrial DNA, dental records, and circumstantial evidence.

Independence, Iowa mourns his loss and proudly welcomes him home.

As Senior Airman Nick Przybyciel, of the 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs office reports, the battle for Unsan was fought close to the Chinese border, only 50 miles to the north. The 8th Cavalry Regiment was surrounded, and because the Chinese had set fire to the nearby forest, the thick smoke made it extremely difficult to track enemy movement. The unit was ordered to retreat, but all roads and tracks were closed by the enemy. Ammunition began to run out and hand-to-hand fighting took place. U. S. forces were vastly outnumbered. Food ran low, too, and eventually, the unit had to scrounge enemy weapons and ammunition to survive. After three days of fierce fighting, the unit was again ordered to withdraw.

Those soldiers who could tried to make their way through enemy lines. Eventually, the battalion surgeon had to surrender his charges to the Chinese.

Approximately 600 U. S. Soldiers were lost in the battle.

The Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office continues its efforts to bring all missing U. S. personnel home.

Soldier Missing in Action Identified, Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office

Nick Przybyciel, The Battle of Unsan, 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs