Korean War vet laid to rest in Maryland decades after war ended

BOONSBORO, Md. - A Korean War veteran has been laid to rest near his Western Maryland home after authorities identified his remains among 55 boxes turned over from North Korea.

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Sgt. Roy DeLauter, 21, of Smithsburg, Maryland, was killed in action Dec. 1, 1950, after his unit was attacked near the Chosin Reservoir. But the body was never recovered.

His remains were identified earlier this year by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. North Korea transferred the boxes of human remains in 2018 after a summit between then-President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

News outlets reported that the boxes contained 250 sets of remains. Of those, roughly 80 were returned to South Korea after determining they were of South Korean origin. DeLauter is one of 82 Americans who have been positively identified so far out of the remaining 170 sets of remains.

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He was laid to rest Friday on what would have been his 93rd birthday at services attended by his siblings, children, and others.