Hazel Park soldier killed in Korean War 75 years ago accounted for

U.S. Army Pfc. William A. Wheeler, 18, will be buried in Troy

U.S. Army Pfc. William A. Wheeler (DPAA Public Affairs)

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – The remains of a U.S. Army soldier from Hazel Park that was killed during the Korean War have been recovered and identified.

U.S. Army Pfc. William A. Wheeler — a member of H Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division — was reported missing in action in September 1950 after his unit was in combat with the North Korean People’s Army along the Naktong River in the area of Yongsan, South Korea.

Recommended Videos



The exact circumstances of Wheeler’s death were unknown, but the U.S. Army later determined he was killed in action on Oct. 25, 1950.

U.S. Army Pfc. William A. Wheeler (DPAA Public Affairs)

In 1953, Chinese Communist Forces unilaterally turned over remains to the United Nations Command during Operation Glory, including remains labeled as Unknown X-181.

The remains were reportedly recovered from prisoner-of-war camps, United Nations cemeteries and isolated burial sites. The unidentified remains were then buried as an unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.

In October 2017, Unknown X-181 was disinterred by DPAA personnel as part of the Korean War Disinterment Project and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

DPAA scientists used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as other circumstances, to identify Unknown X-181 as Wheeler. Scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.

Wheeler’s name was recorded on the Court of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War.

He will be buried in Troy sometime this year.


Recommended Videos