FAIRCHILD, Wis. — Seventy years later, a soldier killed during the Korean War will be buried in Fairchild, Wisconsin on Aug. 23.
Army Cpl. Donald (Donny) L. DuPont was a member of B Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. According to the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, DuPont was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, at the age of 22 while fighting enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. His remains could not be recovered and there was no evidence he was a prisoner of war.
Nearly 70 years later, his remains were turned over on July 27, 2018, by North Korea following the summit between former President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un.
According to a press release, "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."
DuPont was accounted for on Jan. 24, 2023, after his remains were identified using anthropological, isotope, mitochondrial DNA, and autosomal DNA analysis.
Along with others still missing from the Korean War, officials say DuPont is recorded on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. A rosette will now be placed by his next to show he has been accounted for.
The remains of DuPont will be interred at Cleveland Cemetery. Smith Funeral Chapel in Eau Claire will perform graveside services after the interment.
More than 7,500 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War.
