Jack O. Tye – Sergeant First Class, United States Army

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Jack O. Tye
Harlan, Kentucky
Born 1930
Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army
Service Number 15230691
Died while Prisoner of War
Died March 31, 1951 in Korea

Sergeant First Class Tye was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy in South Korea on September 20, 1950 and returned to duty on September 25, 1950.

He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy near Kunu-ri, North Korea on November 27, 1950 and died while a prisoner on March 31, 1951. His remains were not recovered.

Sergeant First Class Tye was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 424-08
May 16, 2008

Soldiers Missing from The Korean War are Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

They are Sergeant First Class George W. Koon of Leesville, Ssouth Carolina and Sergeant First Class Jack O. Tye of Loyall, Kentucky, both U.S. Army. Koon ill be buried tomorrow in Leesville, and Tye will be buried Monday in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.

Representatives from the Army met with the soldiers’ next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.

In late November 1950, Koon was assigned to the Medical Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, and Tye was assigned to Company L, 38th Infantry Regiment. Both were members of the 2nd Infantry Division advancing north of Kunu-ri, North Korea. On November 25, the Chinese Army counterattacked the Americans in what would become known as the Battle of the Chong Chon (River). This combat was some of the fiercest of the war, and the 2nd Division initiated a fighting withdrawal to the south. Koon and Tye were captured by Chinese forces during the intense enemy fire, and subsequently died while in captivity from malnutrition and medical neglect.

In 2002, two joint U.S./Democratic People’s Republic of Korea teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), investigated and excavated a mass burial site located 20 miles northwest of Kunu-ri, along the route taken by captured U.S. POWs being moved to permanent POW camps along the Yalu River. The teams recovered remains at the site believed to be those of several U.S. servicemen, including Koon and Tye.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and JPAC also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in both Koon’s and Tye’s identification.

Friday, May 16, 2008:

FRANKFORT, Kentucky –The remains of a Kentucky soldier killed in the Korean War have been identified.

Sergeant Jack O. Tye of Loyall, Kentucky, will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., on Monday.

Tye was assigned to Company L, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division and was fighting near Kunu-ri, North Korea in November, 1950 when he was captured by Chinese forces. He later died in captivity from malnutrition and medical neglect.

Tye’s remains were discovered in a 2002 in a mass grave 20 miles northwest of Kunu-ri and eventually identified by scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command.

The remains of Sergeant George W. Koon of Leesville, South Carolina, were also identified. Koon will be buried in Leesville on Saturday.

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