Remains of West Virginia Soldier Killed in Korean War to be Buried

August 22, 2022

News Release | AP

Photo: Military OneSource

CHARLESTON, WV - The remains of a West Virginia soldier killed during the Korean War will be buried next month.

Graveside services for U.S. Army Cpl. Paul Mitchem, 20, of Avondale, will be held Sept. 2 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, the Army said in a news release.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for Mitchem in February 2021. He was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division.

Mitchem was reported missing in action in July 1950 after his unit sustained heavy casualties near Ch’onan, South Korea. His unit was forced to retreat and his body was not initially found.

Remains recovered in October 1950 were determined to be unidentifiable and were buried in Honolulu, Hawaii. Remains exhumed in 2019 from the Punchbowl cemetery were confirmed as Mitchem though DNA testing and dental and anthropological analysis.

A rosette will be placed next to his name on the Courts of the Missing Walls at the Punchbowl to indicate he has been accounted for.

According to the Army, more than 7,500 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War.