Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JULY 19 - 25, 2023 UCW 9 NC soldier accounted for from Korean War a Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency STAFF REPORT WASHINGTON—e Defense POW/MIA Ac- counting Agency (DPAA) announced July 10 that U.S. Army Cpl. Rex W. Powell, 18, Valdese, North Carolina, who was killed during the Korean War, was accounted for on Feb. 13, 2023. In the winter of 1950, Powell was a member of L Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regi- ment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 12, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reser- voir, North Korea. While it is possible Powell was captured, there was no record or eyewitness accounts of him being held as a prisoner of war, and no recovered remains were ever identified as him. e Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953. During Operation GLORY in 1954, the Demo- cratic People's Republic of Korea returned the remains of over 2,900 Americans. During the subsequent processing and identification of these remains, none were associated with Powell, and he was declared non-recoverable in January 1956. At the end of the identification process, 848 unidentified remains, including one designated X-15633 Operation GLORY, were interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii. In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to dis- inter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punch- bowl. In March 2021, during Phase ree of DPAA's Korean War Disinterment Project, X-15633 was disinterred from the Punchbowl and transferred to the DPAA Laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, for analysis. To identify Powell's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner Sys- tem used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis. Powell's name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. Powell will be buried in Salisbury, North Caro- lina on Aug. 11, 2023. For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at 800-892-2490. To see the most up-to-date statistics on DPAA recovery efforts for those unaccounted for from the Korean War, go to the Korean War Account- ing page on the DPAA website at: https://dpaa- mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaFamWebKorean. For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense- pow-mia-accounting-agency. Editor's note: Cpl. Powell was accounted for in February, but his family only recently received their full briefing on his identification, which is why his repatriation was just announced. NEWS C u st o m C a teri n g by T w o B r o t h ers eVineNC.com or TwoBrothersCateringNC.com 806 Katie Street Fayetteville NC (O Owen Drive behind O-Reilly's) Make your special day one that everyone will remember! Call 910-584-9892 Serving You Since 2004 Lakeside WEDDING, BANQUET & EVENT VENUE Fayetteville's Newest Venue (Image courtesy Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) September 9, 2023 Saturday - 12 Noon The CROWN EXPO 1960 Coliseum Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28306 The 1st statewide ceremony in North Carolina to recognize those men & women who suffered for the cause of liberty & freedom. Our Prisoners of War Those Missing in Action Help honor these veterans and their families with your ticket purchase or sponsorship. WWW.NCPOWMIA.COM General Questions: 919-810-1383 .