Decades after the end of the Korean War in 1953, the remains of dozens of presumed U.S. war dead returned Wednesday to Hawaii for analysis and identification. The U.S. military believes the bones are those of U.S. servicemen and potentially servicemen from other United Nations member countries who fought alongside the U.S. on behalf of South Korea during the war.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence spoke at a ceremony before the flag-draped containers carrying the remains were brought off airplanes in sets of four as solemn music played.
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“Whosoever emerges from these aircraft today begins a new season of hope for the families of our missing fallen,” Pence said. “Hope that those who are lost will yet be found. Hope that after so many years of questions, they will have closure.”
Late Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for transferring presumed remains of soldiers killed in the Korean War and said he looks forward to meeting with Kim soon.
“Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen! I am not at all surprised that you took this kind of action,” Trump tweeted late Wednesday.
Each container was accompanied by one Marine, one sailor, one soldier and one airman. They placed the caskets gently on risers lined up inside the hangar as Pence stood watching with his hand over his heart. Adm. Phil Davidson, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, saluted.
“Some have called the Korean War the forgotten war,” Pence said. “But today we prove these heroes were never forgotten. Today our boys are coming home.”
Some of the invited guests wiped tears from their eyes during the procession of the containers off the planes.
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North Korea handed over the remains last week. A U.S. military plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve the 55 cases.
There are 7,699 U.S. service members listed as unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War, of which about 5,300 are believed to have died on North Korean soil. The remainder are those who died in South Korea but have not been recovered; those who died in air crashes at sea or on ships at sea, as well as a number who are believed to have been taken to China.
The remains are being sent to Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency for forensic analysis in order to try to determine their identities.
A U.S. defense official told VOA that North Korea has provided almost no information to help identify the individuals, and that the process could take months or years to complete.
Hanwell Kaakimaka’s uncle, John Kaakimaka, is among those who never came home.
“We’ve been watching the news, and we’ve been hopeful that my uncle is among the remains,” he said, adding that it could bring his family some closure.
His uncle, who was from Honolulu, was a corporal in the 31st Infantry Regiment of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division. He went missing on or about Dec. 2, 1950.
Hanwell Kaakimaka said the story he heard from his dad was that his uncle was injured and was being brought back from the front when Chinese troops overran the area and attacked the convoy.
If John Kaakimaka’s remains are ever identified, his family wants him to be buried in a cemetery at the base of Diamond Head crater in Honolulu because that’s where his parents and brothers were laid to rest, Hanwell Kaakimaka said.
The Kaakimaka family provided DNA samples to the U.S. military’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency over a decade ago, hoping officials would be able to make a match.
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Before the remains were put on military planes bound for Hawaii, hundreds of U.S. and South Korean troops gathered at a hanger at the Osan base in South Korean for the repatriation ceremony.
“For the warrior, this is a cherished duty, a commitment made to one another before going into battle, and passed on from one generation of warriors to the next,” Vincent Brooks, chief of the U.S. military in South Korea, said in a speech.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said last week that the return of the 55 boxes was a positive step but not a guarantee that the bones are American.
The agency identifies remains of servicemen killed in past conflicts. It typically uses bones, teeth and DNA to identify remains along with any items that may have been found with remains like uniforms, dog tags and wedding rings. But North Korea only provided one dog tag with the 55 boxes it handed over last week.