Newly-Found Remains of Missing S.F. Man Killed in Korean War to Be Buried With Honors

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The remains of a U.S. Army soldier missing since the Korean War have been identified as belonging to a San Francisco resident.

Private First Class James J. Leonard was reported killed in action while defending the village of Yongdong, South Korea, on July 25, 1950. He was 22.

RELATED: DoD POW/MIA - Army Pfc. James J. Leonard, Jr.

In June 1952, a military unit that specializes in finding and registering soldiers' graves conducted searches in the area surrounding Yongdong but were not able to identify Leonard's.

Roughly 65 years later, South Korea's Ministry of National Defense Agency for Killed in Action Recovery and Identification found his remains on March 30, 2017.

They were sent to a lab and identified using dental and anthropological analysis, according to the U.S. Department of Defense's POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Leonard's remains will be buried with full military honors on Tuesday and his family will receive a letter of condolence from Gov. Jerry Brown, who has ordered flags flown at half staff over the state Capitol in Leonard's memory.

© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Bay City News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.