South Korean's remains returned

The remains of South Korean Maj. Woo Sik Park were presented to his wife, Jae-Gum Choi; son Chel Ki Pak; and granddaughter Yeon-Jun Park, 7, at a ceremony yesterday at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff Writer

The remains of a South Korean soldier who was killed during the Vietnam War were returned to his family in a ceremony yesterday at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.

More than 250 service members and civilians attended the repatriation ceremony for Maj. Woo Sik Park, an allied military adviser to the U.S. Army who was recently identified when a portion of his remains were recovered from a helicopter crash site in Phu Khanh Province.

Park, a commander of South Korea's 3rd Company, 29th Regiment, 9th Division, was a passenger in the UH-1 helicopter, which crashed in December 1967.

"Today, we bring some comfort and closure to the Park family," said Consul General Ji Doo Lee of South Korea. "We will return Major Park to his hometown ... and transfer the remains of this Korean soldier who fought side by side with American soldiers."

The remains were recovered by officials from U.S. Army Identification Laboratory-Hawai'i and Joint Task Force-Full Accounting, both based in Hawai'i, and personnel from Vietnam, in March 1993.

It took nine years to nail down Park's identification. The lab's forensic anthropologists also had to include mitochondrial DNA testing to link Park to his relatives, said Johnie Webb, deputy director of the U.S. Army Identification Laboratory-Hawai'i.

U.S. Brig. Gen. Robert Lee, left, presents the remains of South Korean Maj. Woo Sik Park to Republic of Korea Navy Capt. Byung Joo Kwon at a ceremony yesterday at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

"We do a lot of recoveries around the world," Webb said. "But, this time, it was a huge challenge for us to find the Park family in Korea. First we had to find them, contact them and ask them for blood samples."

Hawai'i's Central Identification Laboratory has identified more than 60 remains since January. Since the lab was created in 1973, more than 1,000 remains have been identified, said Ginger Couden, the lab's public affairs officer. All but six have been American service members.

Park's wife, Jae-Gum Choi , son Chel Ki Pak, and 7-year-old granddaughter, Yeon-Jun Park, were there to receive his remains.

"Our family is very happy," said Pak, through an interpreter. "We want to thank the United States government for assisting in the search and rescue of our father."