Fallen Just Days Before the Armistice... Sergeant First Class Park Seokho Returns to His Family After 72 Years

Dog Tag Bearing His Serial Number and Name Discovered with the Remains

Sergeant First Class Park Seokho, who was killed in action at the age of 22 during the Jeokgeunsan-Samhyeon District Battle just over ten days before the signing of the armistice in the Korean War, will finally be returned to his family after 72 years.

The Ministry of National Defense Agency for KIA Recovery and Identification announced on the 13th that the remains discovered last November in the Jupa-ri area of Wonnam-myeon, Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, have been identified as belonging to the late Sergeant First Class Park of the 13th Regiment, 11th Division of the Republic of Korea Army. He is the 15th fallen hero to be identified this year. Since the remains recovery project began in April 2000, a total of 263 soldiers have now been returned to their families.

He was born in May 1931 in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province, as the fifth of eight siblings. All of his parents and siblings have since passed away, and as he died without children, even his surviving nephew, Park Yongcheol (age 73), does not know much about his life before enlistment.

He enlisted on September 20, 1951, completed training at the Army 1st Training Center (Jeju), and was then deployed to the front as a member of the 13th Regiment, 11th Division. The Jeokgeunsan-Samhyeon District Battle (July 15-23, 1953), in which he was killed, was a fierce engagement in which the 7th and 1st Divisions of the Republic of Korea Army repelled attacks by four divisions of the Chinese army in the Jupa-ri area, mounted a counterattack, and stabilized the front lines.

The identification of his remains was made possible thanks to a report from a battalion commander with experience in remains recovery, the expertise of the investigation and excavation team from the national recovery unit, and the discovery of a dog tag engraved with his name. The dog tag recovered with the remains bore his military serial number (0642181) and English name (PAK SEOK HO). Based on this, the authorities traced his registered address and identified his surviving family members using military records and the list of fallen soldiers.

This “Return of a Hero” ceremony was held at the request of the family on this day at the home of his nephew, Park Yongcheol, in Nam-gu, Daegu. Park Yongcheol, representing the family, said, “Whenever we held ancestral rites during holidays, the thought that my uncle had died in the Korean War always weighed on my mind. Now that we can finally lay him to rest at the National Cemetery, I feel at peace.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.