https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000bRB4TEAW

Service Member

SGT HOWARD RICHARD BELDEN

On October 14, 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant Howard Richard Belden, missing from the Korean War.

Sergeant Belden entered the U.S. Army from New York and was a member of Headquarters Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. SGT Belden went missing in action near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea, on December 1, 1950, when his unit came under attack from Chinese Communist Forces. His remains could not be located or recovered following the incident. In 2018, following a summit meeting between leaders of the two nations, North Korea turned over 55 boxes of human remains to U.S. custody. The returned remains were purported to be the recovered remains of American servicemembers killed during the war. These remains were accessioned into the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for analysis and identification. Following a multidisciplinary analysis, one set of these remains were identified as those of SGT Belden.

Sergeant Belden is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/2816347/soldier-accounted-for-from-korean-war-belden-h/

PRESS RELEASE | Nov. 17, 2021

Soldier Accounted For From Korean War (Belden, H.)

WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Sgt. Howard R. Belden, 19, of Hague, New York, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Oct. 14, 2021.

In late 1950, Belden was a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.

On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.

To identify Belden’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological and isotope analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

Belden’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, 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.

Belden will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. The date has yet to be determined.

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 fact sheet on the DPAA website at: https://www.dpaa.mil/Resources/Fact-Sheets/Article-View/Article/569610/progress-on-korean-war-personnel-accounting/

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, or find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.

Belden’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000bRB4TEAW.

HOWARD R BELDEN (1931)