MINNEAPOLIS — A young soldier from Minneapolis will finally be at rest, 74 years after his death while serving in Korea.
The U.S. Army says William E. Colby of Minneapolis will be interred at Fort Snelling National Cemetery on Dec. 3, seven months after his remains were identified using DNA technology.
Colby was just 19 years old and serving in the Korean War when he was declared missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, after his unit was attacked by the Chinese People's Army as they attempted to withdraw from the Chosin Reservoir. The young solider could not be recovered following the battle, and the U.S. Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953.
His fate was finally confirmed for family members by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency on May 2, 2024, after Colby's remains were identified from 55 boxes of remains returned to the U.S. by the North Korean government in 2018.
The Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division at Fort Knox, Ky., plays a key role in finding family members to identify missing Soldiers from WWII, the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The process begins with obtaining a DNA sample from the living person identified as next of kin and then using several forms of DNA analysis to match remains.
Survivors then receive access to the soldier's military benefits and a burial with full military honors.
