A teenage US soldier went missing during the Korean War. Now, 75 years later, his remains have been accounted for
The remains of a young soldier who disappeared 75 years ago during the Korean War after telling his mother not to cry if he died have finally been released, according to military officials.
U.S. Army Sergeant Celestino Chavez Jr., of Gallup, New Mexico, was identified April 15. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
In a newspaper clipping shared by the agency, the 19-year-old’s mother, Lupita Chavez, said she last heard from him on Nov. 27, 1950, when she received a letter telling her: “If anything happens to me, please mom, don’t shed any tears.”
With his body now handed over to the DPAA, he shared details of his service in the war, which took place between June 1950 and July 1953. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, now North Koreaand South Korea with US-led allied forces
Chavez was assigned to D Battery, 15th Anti-Aircraft Artillery, Automatic Weapons Battalion, 7th Infantry Division in late 1950 and was wounded during a firefight near Jangjin Reservoir.
U.S. Army Sergeant Celestino Chavez Jr., of Gallup, New Mexico, was killed during the Korean War and was identified April 15, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
The teenager was “shot and seriously injured” during the attack but “refused to be released…because there was no other man to replace him,” according to the statement accompanying his posthumous award.
“He voluntarily remained at his post and continued to fire the gun despite his wound,” the statement said. “When the enemy attack was thwarted by accurate and intense fire, Corporal Chavez, weakened from blood loss, collapsed unconscious and fell from the M-19 gun carriage.”
Chavez was taken to an aid station on 30 November, but was reported missing on 2 December when his convoy was ambushed by enemy forces en route to Hagaru-ri, south of the reservoir.
The U.S. Army received no indication that he was being held as a prisoner of war, and with no evidence of his survival, issued a finding of probable death on December 31, 1953.
He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for continuing to serve despite his injuries in the November 30 attack. He was also honored with two Bronze Service Stars, the Purple Heart, and the Korean Service Medal.
More than 60 years later, in the summer of 2018, at a summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un, North Korea handed over 55 boxes containing the remains of US soldiers killed in the war.
The remains were taken to a DPAA laboratory for identification using circumstantial and material evidence as well as anthropological analysis, the agency said. About 7,500 U.S. soldiers from the Korean War are believed to be missing, according to the agency. More than 30,000 Americans were killed and more than 100,000 were injured.
Chavez was buried with full military honors on April 15 in his hometown of Gallup, New Mexico.
