Army Officer From Brighton Missing During Korean War Coming Home For Burial 70 Years Later
BOSTON (CBS/AP) — An Army officer from Massachusetts who was reported missing in action during the Korean War has been accounted for and is coming home for burial, military officials said Wednesday.
The remains of 1st Lt. Thomas J. Redgate, are scheduled to buried at the veterans' cemetery in Bourne on Sept. 17, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a statement.
Redgate, a member of Battery A, 48th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division, was reported missing Dec. 11, 1950, when his unit was attacked during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, according to the Army.
The exact details surrounding his loss were not known, and his remains could not be recovered at the time. He was 24.
In July 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea turned over 55 boxes that purportedly contained the remains of American service members killed during the war.
The remains were examined at the DPAA's laboratory in Hawaii, and based on anthropological analysis, as well as DNA and circumstantial evidence, one set was determined to be Redgate's.
Redgate, whose hometown was listed as Brighton, was accounted for in April 2020, but the announcement was made Wednesday because his family only recently received a full briefing of his identification, the Army said.
Redgate's name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Back in November, the city of Boston dedicated the intersection of Mapleton and Market streets in Brighton in Redgate's honor.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)