Remains of man missing in Korean War to be buried in St. Charles

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has announced that Army Master Sgt. Harold F. Drews, 21, of Elgin, who was killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Nov. 5, 2019.

He will be buried Wednesday in St. Charles, according to a news release from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. In December 1950, Drews was assigned to King Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.

For several days, his unit was engaged in intense fighting with the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea, the release stated. Drews went missing in action on Dec. 12, 1950. 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 Drews' remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence, the release stated. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.

Drews’ 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 missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.