More than 70 years ago, a U.S. soldier fought bravely in the Korean War. However, his body was never identified, and he was considered missing. Now, the remains of a 19-year-old U.S. Army soldier have been identified after 75 years. The body was identified using DNA analysis, genome testing and anthropological analysis.
The Korean War veteran was killed in action during the 1950s. He had been missing since 1953, and there were no reports indicating he had been taken as a prisoner of war. After he was reported missing on December 2, 1953, he was presumed to be dead on December 31. His family now has answers about what happened to him.
Army Sgt. Celestino Chavez enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1949. According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, he was 17 years old when he enlisted. He was part of the 5th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion in the 7th Infantry Division and was assigned to D Battery.
Remains of teen U.S. soldier who told his mother “no tears” identified 75 years after vanishing in Korea. https://t.co/8gmjKb7daz
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 15, 2026
Army Sgt.’s mother, Lupita Chavez, last heard from him on November 27, 1950. He had sent a letter to his mother. He wrote, “If anything happens to me, please, mother, no tears.” Chavez was wounded during the war near the Chosin Reservoir in Korea on November 30, 1950.
Chavez was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. He was given full military honors at his burial and also received a Purple Heart and a Korean Service Medal. After he was severely wounded and was stuck while holding his position, he refused to be evacuated. Instead, he chose to fight valiantly.
DPAA also shared a news clipping that reads, “He stayed at his post voluntarily and, despite his wound, kept firing the weapon. When the enemy attack had been broken up by the accurate and intense fire, Corporal Chavez, weakened by loss of blood, collapsed unconscious and fell from the M-19 gun carriage to the ground.”
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His body could not be recovered immediately due to cold weather and the UN forces retreating at that time. He was amongst hundreds of service members who were not accounted for. The DPAA informed the Chavez family of his identification.
More than a thousand US military personnel lost their lives during the Korean war and thousands were wounded. According to a DPAA report, 30,000 United Nations soldiers and Marines fought bravely against 120,000 enemy troops. 7,500 soldiers remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. The DPAA is making consistent efforts to identify the remains that were handed over from North Korea in 2018.
