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Nearly 75 years after his death in the Korean War, the remains of an American soldier have been positively identified, according to U.S. military officials. The soldier was identified as U.S.
Army Pvt. 1st Class Arlie P. Barrett, 19, from Bluff City, Tennessee.
He was killed while fighting with the North Korean People’s Army along the Naktong River near Yongsan, South Korea in August 1950. At the time of his death, Barrett was part of the Easy Company.
Following the battle, intense fighting prevented the recovery of Barrett’s body, and he was subsequently listed as missing in action. It wasn’t until December 1950 that a set of remains, which could not initially be identified, were recovered about eight miles from the last known location of Barrett. These remains were interred in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Efforts to identify Barrett’s remains intensified when, in November 2000, his sister Ruby Barrett Fleenor provided a DNA sample to military officials, expressing hope that it would help in the identification process. The breakthrough came in June 2021 when the remains were exhumed and examined at the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) laboratory using advanced forensic techniques. This included dental and anthropological analysis, chest radiographs, and mitochondrial DNA testing, alongside the evaluation of circumstantial evidence.
The DPAA successfully identified the remains as belonging to Barrett on June 7, 2024. A rosette will be placed next to his name on the Courts of the Missing to signify his identification. Barrett is scheduled to be buried with full military honors in Mountain Home, Tennessee, on September 27, 2024.
Barrett, who received a Purple Heart for his service, is among more than 450 Americans killed in the Korean War whose remains have been identified and returned to their families since 1982. However, over 7,500 Americans remain missing from the conflict, as reported by the DPAA.