Long-lost Korean War sergeant's remains to be buried in Georgia hometown

VALDOSTA, Ga. - A soldier from Valdosta who was killed while fighting in the Korean War is finally coming home.

U.S. Army Master Sgt. Roy E. Barrow was reported missing in action on Dec. 12, 1950, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces in North Korea. He was 39 years old.

Four years later, North Korea turned a set of remains designated Unknown X-15869 Operation Glory to the United States. At the time, technology couldn't identify the remains, and they were buried as "unknown" in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

In 2013, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency disinterred the remains. Ten years later, officials were able to identify the body as Barrow's using chest radiograph comparisons, dental examinations, and anthropological analysis.

U.S. Army Master Sgt. Roy E. Barrow (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)

Barrow’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl in Honolulu, along with the others who are still missing from America's wars. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

The former sergeant of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division will now be transported to his hometown for a burial set for Jan. 27.