Coming home after 50 years
A hearse containing the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. Virgil L. Phillips passed through Martinsville on Wednesday on Ind. 37 for burial of Phillips' remains in Loogootee in Martin County. Phillips' remains were identified recently.
He was reported missing in action in November 1950. Phillips and 350 other men, who were attacked by Chinese troops in Unsan, North Korea, were unaccounted for after the battle where UN forces swept north in pursuit of fleeing North Korean forces. During the first days of November, UN and Communist Chinese forces came into contact near Usan, about 60 miles north of Pyongyang, and were nearly wiped out.
Scientists used DNA, dental records and other information to identify Phillips from 127 sets of recovered remains believed to be those of U.S. soldiers. Eight have been positively identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors. Another 10 are nearing the final stages of the forensic identification process, according to the Department of Defense.
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