DNA test helps identify body of Korean War soldier from Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) — DNA analysis has helped scientists identify the remains of a U.S. Army soldier from Georgia who was killed during the Korean War. U.S. officials announced Wednesday that Army Sgt. 1st Class James L. Wilkinson of Bowdon, Georgia was accounted for late last year after scientists used mitochondrial DNA along with a chest X-ray and other tools to examine previously unidentified remains. Wilkinson was 19 when he went missing in September 1950 during fighting along the Naktong River near Yongsan, South Korea. He was presumed dead but his body could not be immediately recovered. The Army began recovering remains from the area in 1951. Wilkinson’s remains were initially declared unidentifiable. Wilkinson will be buried on Sept. 16 in Barrow County.