MOD asks for DNA samples to give Glorious Glosters gracious burial
WITH waves of Chinese infantry attacking his isolated hilltop position and many of his small band of British defenders becoming casualties, Brigadier Tom Brodie, commander of the Gloucestershire Regiment, was asked for an update by his American superior.
“Things are getting a bit sticky,” he reportedly told Gen Robert Soule, at the height of the Battle of Imjin River in April 1951, during the Korean War.
Taking the phrase at face value, and misunderstanding that to a British soldier it indicated an absolute crisis, the general sent neither reinforcements nor an order to withdraw. Having held out against an estimated 10,000 Chinese troops for three days, most of the unit of 600 men were killed or captured, with only 40 making it back to safety. Many of those captured died in North Korean prisons and their remains never returned home.
But now relatives of men from The Glorious Glosters, as the unit became known, have been asked to help identify remains from the conflict in a new appeal by the Ministry of Defence.
Families of the fallen servicemen have been asked to provide DNA samples after a deal struck in June between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, saw the repatriation of a number of remains.
So far the remains of 55 soldiers have been returned to the US for analysis, with more hoped to follow. But the nationalities have yet to be identified and with 33,000 coalition troops still unaccounted for from the war the MOD has appealed for help to trace fallen British servicemen.
Nicola Nash, from the Mod’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, said: “We are currently attempting to gather the contact information of the families of these brave men who were killed during the Korean War but have no known grave.”
Any British personnel identified will be buried in the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Pusan, South Korea.
“Although the process of tracing the families, DNA testing and identification will probably take many years, we are hoping that as many families as possible will come forward,” Ms Nash said.
The Korean War, technically a UN policing action, lasted from 1950 to 1953. An American-led UN coalition supported South Korea in the fight against the Communist North, which was backed by China; 1,108 British troops were killed in the war, with 336 still listed as missing.
Sam Mercer, a 2nd lieutenant in the Gloucestershire Regiment at the time of the battle who was wounded and subsequently taken captive, said he supported the DNA initiative. Speaking to The Telegraph he recalled that many of his fellow soldiers had been reservists at the time of the Korean War and had to be recalled to arms to go and fight. “In the words of the RSM [Regimental Sergeant Major],” Mr Mercer said, “they were ticking like alarm clocks!”
Mr Mercer says it is a worthy endeavour to try to match remains from the war to help the families. He says the sacrifices of his comrades were greatly respected by the Korean people today.
Mr Mercer said after his last visit to the Imjin River battlefield, when returning to his hotel, a young Korean nurse came up to check on him. Having ensured he was healthy she then knelt down in from of him and, as if she was addressing all the men that had gone to fight for her country, said three words that have stayed with Mr Mercer ever since: “You my hero.”