Korean War Marine, MIA, Identified as Domenico S. Di Salvo

The United States Department of Defense on Tuesday announced that it has positively identified the remains of a Marine missing in action since the Korean War. According to the press release, the remains are scheduled to be returned to the family "...for burial with full military honors."

According to the Department of Defense Prisoner of War / Missing Personnel Office, Private First Class Domenico S. Di Salvo from Akron, Ohio served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. During late 1950, Private Di Salvo, who was assigned to F Company of the Second Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment of the First Marine Division, was killed in action near Yudam-ni on the western side of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. The press release stated that Private Di Salvo was lost on December 2^nd, 1950 after three Communist Chinese Divisions attacked his Marine unit and U.S. forces were attempting to withdraw under fire. Due to intense enemy action, Private Di Salvo was one of several members of F Company to be buried in temporary graves near the place where the Marines fought the Communist Chinese.

The press release went on to say that during Operation Glory in 1954, the North Korean government repatriated multiple sets of U.S. remains, including some associated with the burial of Private Di Salvo. Five U.S. service members were identified from this group of remains, and one individual could not be positively identified. The unidentified remains were buried in Hawaii at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl.

In November of last year, the Joint Prisoner of War / Missing in Action Accounting Command (JPAC) exhumed the remains from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific because they were believed to be the remains of Private Di Salvo. Using forensic tools, circumstantial evidence, and dental comparisons, scientists from the JPAC were able to positively identify Private Di Salvo. He is now scheduled to be buried in Seville, Ohio on July 12^th.

The Department of Defense Prisoner of War / Missing Personnel Office continues to work to locate and identify the remains of all U.S. service members missing from American conflicts, including Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, and the current conflict in Iraq.

Additional information on the Department of Defense's mission to locate and identify missing American personnel can be found at the DPMO Web site.

Source: Department of Defense Press Release Number 860-07