Soldier killed in Korea buried
By David Hammer
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A Cincinnati soldier identified partly through dental records and a 1944 newspaper clipping found in his billfold was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, more than a half-century after he was killed in action in North Korea.
Master Sgt. Robert V. Layton was among 225 members of an Army battalion killed by Chinese forces at Chosin Reservoir and buried in a mass grave some time between Nov. 27 and Dec. 1, 1950. The battalion had to retreat and listed Layton, 26, as missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950.
Layton was buried in a ceremony attended by his daughter, Judith Saylor of Millersville, Pa., and other family members, said Larry Greer, spokesman for the Pentagon's POW-MIA office.
A few blocks away from Layton's grave, the Pentagon keeps working to identify the remains of soldiers and Marines whose remains have been recovered from the Chosin Reservoir site. Greer said bone fragments gathered between 2002 and 2004 can be hard to identify, but 15 fillings and well-maintained dental records helped forensic scientists in Hawaii positively identify Layton.
"The fillings made them almost as unique as a fingerprint," Greer said.
Layton's remains were recovered by joint U.S.-North Korean recovery teams. Searchers also found Layton's dog tags and a billfold containing a 1944 Cincinnati Enquirer clipping about the Bronze Star awarded to Layton in World War II.
They further established Layton's identity when DNA from bone fragments matched a sample provided by his sister, Greer said.
More than 33,000 U.S. troops were killed in the Korean War, which began in June 1950 and ended with the signing of an armistice in 1953.
More than 475 sets of remains were recovered under separate U.S.-North Korean arrangements from 1990 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2005.
Layton's family could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but Greer said the Pentagon's recovery and identification work helps heal old wounds.
"We meet with family members every month, three-quarters of them are from the Korean War, and most of those had no idea we continue to pursue their fathers and grandfathers from the war," he said. "And many of them say it brings closure to a sad chapter of that family's life."
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