YORK COUNTY — A Spring Grove man who went missing in the Korean War has been accounted for, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
Earl H. Markle, 19, was reported missing in action on Nov. 2, 1950, near Unsan, North Korea. His remains could not be recovered, and he was not reported as a prisoner of war. The U.S. Army declared him deceased as of Dec. 31, 1953, the DPAA said.
His remains were accounted for on May 17, 2019, according to the DPAA.
Markle served in Company M, 3rd Battalion, 8th Calvary Regiment, 1st Calvary Division.
On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim 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 Markle’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial
DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Today, 7,652 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by Korean officials, recovered from Korea by
American recovery teams, or disinterred from unknown graves.
Markle’s 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, the DPAA says.
