Pvt Edward M Morrison
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pvt. Edward M. Morrison, 19, of Ashland, Wisconsin, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for on May 31, 2019.
(This identification was initially published on June 4, 2019.)
In July 1950, Morrison was a member of 1st Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. His unit was holding a defensive position north of P'yongt'aek, South Korea, when he was killed by small arms fire on July 6, 1950. Morrison was the first casualty of his company during its second engagement in the war. His remains could not be recovered following the battle.
On April 4, 1951, a set of remains, designated Unknown X-900 Tanggok was recovered near Kwang Jong-ni, South Korea, by a team from the 565th Graves Registration Service, and interred at the United Nations Military Cemetery Tanggok, South Korea. Later in 1951, the remains were disinterred and processed for identification at the Central Identification Unit at Kokura, Japan. When identification attempts failed, they were transferred to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP,) known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu and were interred as Unknown.
In April 2018, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-900 Tanggok from the Punchbowl and sent the remains to the laboratory for analysis.
To identify Morrison’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
(This identification was initially published on June 4, 2019.)
In July 1950, Morrison was a member of 1st Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. His unit was holding a defensive position north of P'yongt'aek, South Korea, when he was killed by small arms fire on July 6, 1950. Morrison was the first casualty of his company during its second engagement in the war. His remains could not be recovered following the battle.
On April 4, 1951, a set of remains, designated Unknown X-900 Tanggok was recovered near Kwang Jong-ni, South Korea, by a team from the 565th Graves Registration Service, and interred at the United Nations Military Cemetery Tanggok, South Korea. Later in 1951, the remains were disinterred and processed for identification at the Central Identification Unit at Kokura, Japan. When identification attempts failed, they were transferred to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP,) known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu and were interred as Unknown.
In April 2018, DPAA disinterred Unknown X-900 Tanggok from the Punchbowl and sent the remains to the laboratory for analysis.
To identify Morrison’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.