By William Costello, U.S. Army Human Resources Command

FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Pfc. Willard H. Edwards, 39, of Wise, Virginia killed during the Korean War, will be interred February 27, in Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, Mims, Florida. North Brevard Funeral Home will coordinate graveside services preceding the interment.

Edwards was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action on Dec. 2, 1950 after his unit was attacked by enemy forces as they attempted to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
In 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea unilaterally turned over remains to the United States, including one set, designated Unknown X-15728 Operation Glory. The remains were reportedly recovered from prisoner of war camps, United Nations cemeteries and isolated burial sites. None of the remains could be identified as Edwards and he was declared non-recoverable in January 1956. The remains were subsequently buried as an Unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for Vega on Sept. 26, 2023.

For more information on DPAA’s efforts to locate and identify Pfc. Edwards’s remains, please visit the DPAA website.

U.S. Army Human Resources Command’s Past Conflict Repatriations Branch plays a vital role in the process of identifying, locating and contacting subsequent generation family members of Soldiers missing or killed in action during WWII and the Korean War to positively identify previously undiscovered or unknown remains.

Media interested in covering and/or obtaining more information about the funeral and interment should contact North Brevard Funeral Home, 321-269-9222.

Press Release | Feb. 24, 202

WASHINGTON – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Pfc. Willard H. Edwards, 39 of Wise, Virginia, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Sept. 26, 2023.

Edwards’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.

In the winter of 1950, Edwards was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action on Dec. 2 after his unit was attacked by enemy forces as they attempted to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.

In 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea unilaterally turned over remains to the United States, including one set, designated Unknown X-15728 Operation Glory. The remains were reportedly recovered from prisoner of war camps, United Nations cemeteries and isolated burial sites. None of the remains could be identified as Edwards and he was declared non-recoverable in January 1956. The remains were subsequently buried as an Unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

In March 2021, DPAA disinterred X-15728, and after a decade of scientific advances and increased historical research, DPAA was able to positively associate X-15728 to Edwards.

To identify Edwards’ remains, scientists from DPAA used chest radiograph comparison, dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.

Edwards’ name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Edwards will be buried in Mims, Florida, on a date yet to be determined.

For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.

To see the most up-to-date statistics on DPAA recovery efforts for those unaccounted for from the Korean War, go to the Korean War fact sheet on the DPAA website.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at http://www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.

Read Edwards’s initial ID announcement here: Edwards.