FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Cpl. John B. Miller, a Soldier killed during the Korean War, will be interred Dec. 6 at Florence National Cemetery, Florence, South Carolina. Cox-Collins Funeral Home, Mullins, South Carolina, will perform graveside services preceding the interment.
A native of Mullins, Miller was a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action Dec. 2, 1950, at age 22, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces as they attempted to withdraw near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
Miller was accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Sept. 4, 2024, after his remains were exhumed in April 2021 from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific – also known as the Punchbowl – Honolulu, Hawaii, for laboratory analysis and identification.
The Past Conflict Repatriations Branch, under the Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations Division at the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky, plays a key role in the process of locating Family members of missing Soldiers from WWII, the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
The process begins with locating the Family member most closely related to the missing Soldier, known as the primary next of kin, followed by a request for Family reference samples or DNA, which are used as a main source in identifying remains.
Once a Soldier has been identified by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, the PCRB notifies and briefs the Family about the results of historical, forensic and DNA reports, benefits and the mortuary process including burial with full military honors.
