Remains of Kentucky soldier killed in Korean War to be buried in hometown

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A U.S. Army soldier killed during the Korean War will be buried in his hometown on Saturday.

Pfc. Robert A. Wright, from Whitesville, Kentucky, went missing in action on July 16, 1950 while fighting along the Kum River near Taejon, South Korea. He was 18 years old.

Wright's body couldn't be recovered and there wasn't any evidence that he became a prison of war. The U.S. Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953.

According to the U.S. Army, after troops regained control of the area where Wright was killed, unknown remains were interred at the United Nations Military Cemetery Taejon.

Wright's remains, unknown at the time, were designated as "Unknown X-296 Taejon." Wright's remains were declared unidentifiable and were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with other Korean War Unknowns.

In 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency disinterred Unknown X-296, according to a news release. It was part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Project. The remains were sent to a laboratory for analysis. 

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for Wright on Aug. 15, 2022 after his remains were identified by circumstantial evidence as well as dental, anthropological and mitochondrial DNA analysis.

Wright will be interred at Saint Mary of the Woods Cemetery in Daviess County on Dec. 10. Graveside services will be performed by Cecil Funeral Home.

Wright was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, according to a news release. Wright attended St. Mary's High School and received basic training at Fort Knox in 1949.

The Messenger-Inquirer, a newspaper in Owensboro, reported in 2016 that a Whitesville road was dedicated in honor of Wright. It is a two-mile stretch of Crisp Road.

More than 7,500 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. 

Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.