Pence welcomes Korean War remains

HONOLULU -- Decades after the end of the Korean War in 1953, the remains of dozens of presumed U.S. war dead returned Wednesday to Hawaii for analysis and identification. The U.S. military believes the bones are those of U.S. servicemen and potentially servicemen from other United Nations member countries who fought alongside the U.S. on behalf of South Korea during the war.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence spoke at a ceremony before the flag-draped containers carrying the remains were brought off airplanes in sets of four as solemn music played.

"Whosoever emerges from these aircraft today begins a new season of hope for the families of our missing fallen," Pence said. "Hope that those who are lost will yet be found. Hope that after so many years of questions, they will have closure."

Each container was accompanied by one Marine, one sailor, one soldier and one airman. They set the caskets gently on risers lined up inside the hangar as Pence stood watching with his hand over his heart. Adm. Phil Davidson, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, saluted.

Some of the invited guests wiped tears from their eyes during the procession of the containers off the planes.

North Korea handed over the remains last week. A U.S. military plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve the 55 cases.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said last week that the return of the 55 boxes was a positive step but not a guarantee that the bones are American.

A U.S. defense official said Tuesday it probably will take months if not years to fully determine individual identities from the remains. The official, who discussed previously undisclosed aspects of the remains issue on condition of anonymity, also said North Korea provided a single military dog tag along with the remains. The official did not know details about the single dog tag, including the name on it or whether it was even that of an American military member.

The repatriation is a breakthrough in a long-stalled U.S. effort to obtain war remains from North Korea.

There are 7,699 U.S. service members listed as unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War, of which about 5,300 are believed to have died on North Korean soil. The remainder are those who died in South Korea but have not been recovered; those who died in air crashes at sea or on ships at sea, as well as a number who are believed to have been taken to China.