Billie Joe Hash, Korean War fatality, returned home after 70 years

An Army corporal is returning home to Kentucky almost 70 years after he was reported missing during fighting with the enemy.

Cpl. Billie Joe Hash, 18, killed during the Korean War, was officially accounted for this week, said the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Cpl. Hash was assigned to Headquarters Battery, 57th Field Artillery, part of the 7th Infantry Division. His unit took part in the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, a two-week long bloodbath in late 1950 that pitted 30,000 U.S., South Korean and British troops against 120,000 Chinese soldiers.

More than 1,000 U.S. military personnel were killed in the battle and more than 5,000 were reported missing - including Cpl. Hash, whose remains could not be identified.

In July 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes purported to be the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains were taken to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham, Hawaii for analysis. The researchers analyzed the DNA, conducted anthropological tests and examined evidence discovered with the remains to confirm it was Cpl. Hash, officials said.

He will be buried Aug. 29, 2020, in his hometown of Corbin, Ky., officials said.