The
funeral and interment of Cpl. Army Cpl. Richard Isbell will be held at
noon Saturday at Highlands Memorial Cemetery in Staffordsville,
Kentucky. Gov. Beshear
encourages individuals, businesses, organizations and government
agencies to join in lowering flags in tribute on that day.
According to the
Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO),
Cpl. Isbell,
20, of Fishtrap, Kentucky, was assigned to Company H, 2nd Battalion,
7th Infantry Division. While deployed near Popsudong, South Korea, the
division was attacked by overwhelming Chinese forces, which caused
Isbell’s unit to begin a fighting withdrawal to a
more defensible position. During this battle April 25, 1951, Isbell was
reported missing in action.
However, according to
DPMO,
after the war Isbell was reported by returning prisoners of
war as having been captured by Chinese forces and died in
captivity June 30, 1951, from dysentery, in a POW camp known as Camp 5,
in Pyoktong, North Korea.
In
1954, Chinese and North Korean Communist forces exchanged the remains
of war dead with the United Nations forces during Operation Glory. In
1956, a military review
board declared Isbell’s remains as unidentifiable. His remains were
transferred to be buried as unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of
the Pacific in Hawaii, known as the “Punchbowl.”
In
2013, due to advances in forensic technology, scientists from the Joint
POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) determined that the possibility of
identifying the remains
was likely at that time. The unknown remains were disinterred for
analysis and possible identification.
In
the identification of Isbell’s remains, scientists from JPAC used
circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, such as
dental comparisons and radiograph
comparisons.
