The Korean War Project
Unrecovered War Casualties – Army is leading The Korean War Project which aims to update the case files of all Australian soldiers who remain ‘missing in action, presumed dead’ from the Korean War.
The ongoing work to account for the “missing” Australian servicemen is progressing with the support of The Royal Australian Navy, The Royal Australian Air Force, National Archives of Australia, the Australian War Memorial, researchers, historians, families and the ex-service community in Australia, the United States, South Korea, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Many Korean War veterans have provided new avenues for investigation by giving first hand accounts and fresh insights into the circumstances surrounding the loss of many Australian servicemen.
Reviving memories of past patrols and battles is an emotional experience and a poignant reminder of those who never returned home. In many cases veterans have expressed that talking about their experiences has opened up ‘old wounds’ but contributing to a project that offers their mates a chance of being located has given them a sense of value.
The following documents have been created for your information:
- Complete List (xlsx, 15 kb) of Australian Servicemen Missing in Action in Korea.
- Factsheet (pdf, 30 kb) for the families of Australian Servicemen Missing in Action in Korea.
- Memorandum of understanding (pdf, 350 kb) between the United States Department of Defense, as represented by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the Australian Department of Defence, as represented by Unrecovered War Casualties - Army
- Memorandum of understanding (pdf, 247 kb) between The Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea, and the Department of Defence of Australia.
- Meeting summary from the Korean War Missing in Action Working Group:
- April 2022 (doc, 37 kb)
- November 2021 (doc, 39 kb)
- May 2021 (doc, 33 kb)
- November 2020 (doc, 30 kb)
- May 2020 (doc, 26 kb)
- November 2019 (doc, 25 kb)
- February 2019 (doc, 28 kb)
- October 2018 (doc, 40 kb)
- June 2018 (doc, 45 kb)
- March 2018 (pdf, 310 kb)
- October 2017 (pdf, 50 kb)
- April 2017 (pdf, 280 kb)
- December 2016 (pdf, 115 kb)
- August 2016 (pdf, 100 kb)
- April 2016 (pdf, 260 kb)
- December 2015 (pdf, 280 kb)
Australia is not alone in seeking to account for Servicemen still missing from the Korean War. The United States’ Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency(DPAA) and the South Korean Ministry of National Defence Agency for Missing in Action Recovery and Identification (MAKRI) organisations have a strong interest in accounting for their servicemen who remain accounted for in Korea. Unrecovered War Casualties – Army maintains a strong working relationship with both organisations.
Can you contribute to the Korean War Project?
Unrecovered War Casualties – Army and The Royal Australian Air Force are seeking information not just about the 42 Australian servicemen who remain unaccounted for in Korea, of equal importance is identifying the families of Australians who are recorded as missing.
If remains of missing Australians are recovered, positive identification will rely on matching DNA from the remains to DNA from members of their families.
If you believe you are related to one of the missing Australian servicemen we ask that you register with the Korean War Project. Family members can include siblings, children, parents, aunts and uncles, cousins and widows. There is no limit to the number of family members who can register with us. Once registered, relatives will be informed of any important development or may be called upon to provide a DNA sample for scientific analysis. Unrecovered War Casualties – Army will seek to collect DNA from both the Maternal and Paternal relatives of the missing soldiers.
Should it be required, DNA samples collected ensure that Army and Air Force have accurate and reliable data available in Australia. This will enhance any samples that may have been provided to an overseas agency in the past. Identification of Australian Servicemen will, where ever possible, be carried out by Australian Forensic Experts and any recovery where an outside agency claims to have located an Australian will be verified by Australian Forensic Experts, ensuring the validity of any identification.
The confidentiality of soldiers unaccounted for and their family is paramount and any information related to individual cases will only be released to family members who have registered with the Korean War Project.
Unrecovered War Casualties – Army is also seeking the assistance of Korean War veterans who have first hand information about any of the incidents in which Australian servicemen came to be recorded as “Missing in Action”. If you were present at any of those incidents please contact the project team.
Enquiries are welcome, you can contact the Korean War Project team via telephone 1800 019 090 or email army.uwc@defence.gov.au.