"Mother, Please Do Not Cry": U.S. Teen Soldier Missing in Korean War Returns Home After 75 Years

The identity of a teenage U.S. soldier killed during the Korean War has been confirmed and he has finally returned to his family after nearly 75 years.

On April 14 (local time), the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) of the U.S. Department of Defense announced, "The identity of U.S. Army Sergeant Celestino Chavez Jr. (19), who was killed in action during the Korean War in 1950, has been confirmed."

Sergeant Celestino Chavez Jr. (19) of the U.S. Army, who was killed during the Korean War in 1950. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)

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In late 1950, Chavez was assigned to Battery D, 15th Antiaircraft Automatic Weapons Battalion, 7th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. He was wounded while defending a position near the Chosin Reservoir in South Hamgyong Province, North Korea, and was evacuated to an aid station on November 30. On December 2, while being transferred to Hagaru-ri, his convoy was ambushed by enemy forces, and he was subsequently listed as missing in action.

As there was no evidence of Chavez's survival, the U.S. Army declared him presumed dead on December 31, 1953. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his valor in holding his position despite his injuries.

His mother, Lupita Chavez, said the last news she received from her son was a letter that arrived on November 27, 1950. In the letter, Chavez left his final request: "Mother, if anything happens to me, please do not shed any tears."

After the North Korea-U.S. summit on July 27, 2018, North Korea handed over 55 boxes believed to contain the remains of U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War. These remains arrived at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, U.S., on August 1, 2018, and were then transferred to the DPAA laboratory.

To confirm Chavez's identity, DPAA scientists utilized anthropological analysis and circumstantial and material evidence. In addition, military forensic scientists carried out mitochondrial DNA analysis, mitochondrial genome sequencing, and nuclear single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis.

On April 15, Chavez was buried in his hometown of Gallup, New Mexico, United States.

According to the DPAA, about 30,000 U.S. 1st Marine Division and United Nations troops fought a fierce two-week battle against 120,000 Chinese forces at the Chosin Reservoir from late November to mid-December 1950. More than 1,000 U.S. soldiers were killed and thousands more wounded in this battle. Braving temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius, the veterans broke through the Chinese encirclement and advanced to Hungnam, making the Hungnam Evacuation possible. The Hungnam Evacuation is regarded as the largest operation of its kind during the Korean War, rescuing as many as 100,000 refugees.

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