President Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday said the remains of Army Cpl. Luther H. Story, a Georgia man killed in the Korean War and honored for his valor, have been identified after 73 years of searching.
Cpl. Story, of Buena Vista, showed conspicuous bravery when his infantry division took the brunt of an attack by the North Korean People’s Army on Sept. 1, 1950, along a defensive formation near Pusan and Yeongsan.
Though wounded in a rice field during the attack, he fired on the enemy to protect his comrades during their withdrawal, according to a citation given with his Medal of Honor ceremony in 1951.
“When last seen he was firing every weapon available and fighting off another hostile assault,” the leaders said.
No one could find Cpl. Story’s remains, nor was he recorded as being taken prisoner, leaders said. He was declared unrecoverable in 1956.
In 2021, scientists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) analyzed a set of remains found near Sangde-po, South Korea.
They used mitochondrial DNA analysis to identify the remains as Cpl. Story.
The leaders said Cpl. Story is survived by his niece, Judy Wade of Americus, Georgia. Her mother was his younger sister.
“The supreme sacrifice and heroism of Corporal Luther Story is illustrative of the freedom, security, and prosperity the South Korean people have today,” the leaders said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.