Illinois soldier killed in Korean War accounted for

(WAND) — An Illinois soldier who was killed during the Korean War has been accounted for as part of a Defense POW Accounting Agency (DPAA) disinterment project.

U.S. Army Corporal Paul Eugene Hoots, who was a resident of Galesburg, went missing in action in South Korea in July of 1950.

His remains were recovered in October of 1950, but could not be identified at the time. The remains were eventually buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

In July of 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to dig up and identify the remains of 652 unidentified Korean War soldiers buried at that cemetery. Hoots' remains were analyzed and identified at the DPAA laboratory in November last year.

Hoots will be buried in Galesburg this month. For funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at 800-892-2490.