Remains belonging to a Korean War veteran are being returned home to Taunton, Mass., more than 70 years after he went missing during the conflict.
U.S. Army Cpl. Normal Ronald Levesque, who went missing aged 18, will be returned by state and local police on Wednesday after police identified his remains last year, according to The Boston Globe. There will be a procession in the city to honor him in addition to an Aug. 14 graveside service, where Levesque will be laid to rest with full military honors.
The Korean War began when North Korea, with indirect support from Communist China and the Soviet Union, fought against South Korea—which in turn was supported by the U.S. The conflict ended in July 1953 and, in total, roughly 5 million soldiers and civilians died. Since no permanent peace treaty has ever been signed, “the unfinished” or “forgotten” war as many have described still divides Korea today.
“While this is a solemn occasion, it is also an opportunity for our community to ensure that Cpl. Levesque is finally welcomed home with the honor and gratitude he earned through his service and sacrifice,” the city said in a statement. “After more than 70 years, he will be laid to rest in his hometown.”
Levesque’s Legacy, Other Missing Soldiers
Levesque was a member of Battery C, 15th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, which was involved in Task Force Bradley.
The task force was directed to defend the city of P’ohang-dong, and Yonil Airfield, South Korea, from an impending attack by North Korean People’s army (NKPA) forces, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). While much of the task force reached Yonil, NKPA fighters ambushed one company and four vehicles from Battery C in the early hours of Aug. 11, preventing the unit’s men from reaching their destination.
Following the ambush, Leveseque was reported missing on Aug. 11, 1950. In 1954, as part of Operation Glory, the United Nations Command, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the Chinese People’s Volunteer army exchanged the remains of war dead.
However, with the forensic tools then available, none of the Operation Glory remains could be positively associated with Levesque.
Two years later, all unidentified Korean War remains were transferred to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP) and buried as unknowns.
Decades later, on March 26, 2018, as part of DPAA’s Korean War Disinterment Plan, one such “unknown” was exhumed from the NMCP and sent to a DPAA laboratory for further study. Based on laboratory analysis and total circumstantial evidence, they identified the remains as belonging to Levesque on Sept. 8, 2025.
He would be 94 years of age today.
Other Veterans’ Remains Returned
He is just one of other military service members whose bodies have recently been identified by authorities.
In July, authorities in southwestern Oregon discovered that the skeletal remains of a body found in the woods near Bandon in 1972 matched the genetic makeup of Armes Henry Lahti, a U.S. Navy veteran from Astoria, Ore., who served in the military during WWII.
A Buffalo Soldier from New Haven, Conn., who disappeared in northern Italy in 1944, was identified and buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced in April.
“After taking care of this unknown soldier for all of these years, it was a profound honor to be able to place a rosette by his name knowing he has been identified and returned home to his family,” Eryth Zecher, Florence American Cemetery superintendent, said in remarks provided to U.S. Army Garrison Italy at the time.
Meanwhile, in March, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency confirmed the identity of a World War II Marine Raider from Cincinnati, Ohio, who had gone missing during a jungle assault in the Solomon Islands 83 years ago.
The DPAA announced on March 4 that Pfc. Norton V. Retzsch, 25, of Cincinnati, was accounted for on April 1, 2025. Using dental records, anthropological analysis and mitochondrial DNA sequencing, the agency confirmed his identity. He was buried on April 13 in Marana, Ariz.
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