South Korea unearths nine sets of war dead remains during DMZ mine-clearing operation
U.S. Army General Vincent K. Brooks, Commander of United Nations Command, visited Arrowhead Hill in the Demilitarized Zone, where Republic of Korea forces are currently conducting de-mining operations, Oct. 8, 2018. The ongoing landmine removal will enable safe access for joint recovery of remains operations and is part of a broader effort to reduce military tensions, prevent accidental clashes and build trust between North and South Korea. Coordinated for release with MND. (SGT Benjamin Parsons/U.S. Army)
South Korea has unearthed nine sets of remains of war dead, including a rare, relatively intact skeleton, during a mine-clearance operation inside the heavily fortified border that divides the peninsula, the military said Monday.
The return of remains from the 1950-53 Korean War, including 55 cases containing the remains of American troops who were lost in North Korea, has been a bright spot in otherwise slow diplomatic efforts to persuade the North to give up its nuclear weapons.
The defense ministry announced it had recovered five sets of remains, including one that “appears to be complete,” last week during work in the Cheorwon area northeast of Seoul. It released a photo of the skeleton, which still had a shoe on one foot.
“All the five sets have been determined during the on-site investigation to be the remains of war dead,” the ministry said in a press release. They will be sent to the ministry’s agency for the recovery and identification of troops killed in action, known as MAKRI, for DNA analysis and further identification.
The total number of remains found since the operation began Oct. 1 at Arrowhead Hill is now nine. The site saw fierce fighting during the war, which ended in an armistice instead of a peace treaty.
The total number of remains found since the operation began Oct. 1 at Arrowhead Hill is now nine. The site saw fierce fighting during the war, which ended in an armistice instead of a peace treaty.
Major fighting at Arrowhead, also known as Hill 281, involved American, French, South Korean and Chinese forces, according to retired Lt. Col. Steve Tharp, a military history expert who is researching the battles. The North Koreans were farther east and would not have been involved, he said.
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Tip ‘o the chapeau to ChipNASA for providing the link.
Category: Korea
Nine sets of remains. At least they will find a resting place now.
Welcome home, Elder brothers. Rest. Your patrol is over.
Do we know if they are American remains yet?
I suspect that the clearing of the DMZ area will reveal many more remains over the next several years. It will be interesting to see how rapidly the clearing goes.
There are a lot of mines and UXO to be cleared…
“Some 7,675 Americans remain unaccounted for since the war, with an estimated 5,300 believed to be on the North Korean side”
A good reason to go back and finish the job.
Just lay it on the table. See who pisses themselves.
Humanitarian demining is not fun, look at the first guy with the weedwhacker, not something fun to do in a minefield that has been sliding around for fifty years.
Welcome home wherever they are from.
I was reading about some surprisingly low-tech/cheap demining tools.
One is a thermite flare and a piece of coat- hanger wire. You set it up pointing at the exposed mine, ignite it, and watch as it burns up the explosive charge, almost always sans “boom”. The things are cheap in bulk, and what is left of the mine is far, far less lethal. If I am not mistaken, it also often gets the “grenade under the mine” type boobytraps, due to the resultant high temperature burn.
Grenade under a mine? Whoever came up with that was a bloodthirsty sonofabitch!
It gets worse, boobytraps are limited by imagination. And we have guys like this born with a Kevlar jockstrap.https://youtu.be/1ibBFMpAh2w
There are several reason for boobytrapping mines.
Prevention/disruption of enemy de-mining.
Prevention of enemy theft and re-use of mines. Guerrillas/insurgents love to do so
Preventing the enemy from simply moving the things into friendly safe lanes.
A simple expedient deterrant is to place an armed grenade under the mine, such that the mine holds down the spoon. Move the mine and the spoon flies off.
You are -in- the minefield. Sudden moves are deadly. Sticking around is deadly.
Times up. Boom.
A day in which I don’t learn something new is a day wasted. Thanks.
Dude, we used to do that with our Claymores. Frag under the Claymore, you try to turn it around, and things become very complicated very fast.