Remains Of Pittsburgh Native Who Died In Korean War Returned Home

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PITTSBURGH (AP) - The remains of a 20-year-old soldier from Pittsburgh who died in the Korean War are being returned to his family.

Army Sgt. William A. Larkins will be buried with full military honors Aug. 10 in Bridgeville, southwest of Pittsburgh.

Larkins was reported missing in action in December 1950 as his 503rd Field Artillery Battalion was fighting in the Ch'ongch'on River region of North Korea.

A returning prisoner of war told authorities Larkins had been captured and died in a POW camp in January 1951.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency says DNA testing as well as dental and anthropological analysis helped identify his remains, which were recovered as part of an excavation in 2005.

More than 7,600 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War, according to the Department of Defense.

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