FORT KNOX, Ky. — A U.S. Army soldier from Alliance who was killed during the Korean War but only recently identified, will finally be able to rest in peace later this month when his remains are buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
According to a release from the U.S. Army's Human Resources Command, Corporal William J. Herrington had been missing since Dec. 2, 1950.
Herrington was a member of Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was just 19 when he was reported missing in action while fighting a series of major battles with the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (CPVA) on the eastern shore of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.
According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), "when Herrington’s unit regrouped in Hangnam, he could not be located and was reported missing. There is no evidence that he was ever a prisoner of war. Herrington, absent any evidence of his continued survival, was declared nonrecoverable and the Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953."
Following a summit between then-President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un in 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes with the alleged remains of American service members killed during the Korean War.
The DPAA announced that Herrington was accounted for last November after scientists used dental, anthropological, and isotope analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System also used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Cpl. Herrington will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on July 17. The graveside service will be performed by Everly-Wheatley Funerals and Cremation prior to the interment.
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