WASHINGTON — The remains of an Army soldier from Seymour who was killed during the Korean War have been identified, officials said Tuesday.
Army Cpl. Benjamin R. Bazzell, 18, of Seymour, was a member of the Headquarters Battery, 57th Field Artillery, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported to have been killed in action on Nov. 30, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.
Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.
According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, following the summit between former President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War.
Those remains were taken to Pearl Harbor for identification. Scientists used DNA and circumstantial evidence to make the identification.
Bazzell's name is recorded on the American Battle Monument Commission's Court of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
He will be buried in Kent, Washington. The date has yet to be decided.
The Battle of the Chosin Reservoir was one of the most brutal battles between United Nations Command troops and Chinese Communist Forces during the Korean War.
For more than two weeks, about 30,000 U.N. soldiers and marines fought enemy forces four times their number on rugged terrain in brutally cold weather. Over a thousand U.S. Marines and soldiers were killed and thousands more were wounded.
Doug Stewart is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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