WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today released the following statement regarding the return of the remains of 55 fallen American service members of the Korean War as part of the commitment made to President Trump during recent talks between the United States and North Korea:

“A promise is made when our service members raise their right hands and enter military service that no one will be left behind. It is our duty to honor their commitment and sacrifices by ensuring they are returned home. I am grateful to President Trump for his efforts to ensure the remains of our fallen Korean War service members are brought home in a dignified manner. It is my hope that, after all these years, bringing the remains of our brave soldiers home will offer some solace and closure to their families. Now, they can finally be laid to rest in peace.”

A U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft containing remains of fallen service members departed Wonsan, North Korea, on July 26. It was accompanied by service members from United Nations Command Korea and technical experts from the Defense Prisoner of War and Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Accounting Agency. The C-17 transferred the remains to Osan Air Base in South Korea, where a formal repatriation ceremony will be held on Aug. 1. Immediately following the ceremony, the remains will be flown to Hawaii for further forensic testing under the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. 

The remains of 7,700 service members who died in the Korean War are still unaccounted for, and of those, 5,300 service members are believed to have died in North Korea.

Today, July 27, is National Korean War Armistice Day, marking the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice.

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The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 114th Congress. Isakson is a veteran himself – having served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966-1972 – and has been a member of the Senate VA Committee since he joined the Senate in 2005. Isakson’s home state of Georgia is home to more than a dozen military installations representing each branch of the military as well as more than 750,000 veterans.