Korean War Vet from Mays Landing, NJ Identified After 70 Years

The remains of a Mays Landing, New Jersey man who fought in the Korean War and went missing in 1950, have reportedly been identified after more than 70 years later.

After being gone so long, the family of this veteran had surely lost hope and just resigned to the fact they'd never see their loved one again or what happened to him. It's an unbearable pain I can't even fathom.

The 19-year-old Army soldier was reported missing back in November of 1950 during a battle near Unsan in North Korea. According to Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, other prisoners of war provided information that the soldier was captured and taken to a POW camp in Pyoktang, North Korea. He reportedly died just four months later.

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Finally, we know his identity. He was Private First Class Harry J. Hartmann, Jr., of Mays Landing.

Hartmann's remains were one of 495 discovered during a recovery operation in 1954, NJ.com reports. He and 37 other were buried at a national cemetery in Hawaii as unknown soldiers.

Four years ago, the DPAA had those remains exhumed in an attempt to finally learn their identities.

In Hartmann's case, the venture was successful. Through dental records and advances in DNA technology and genealogy, he is unknown no more. According to Nicolas Fernades at NJ Advanced Media, the DPAA plans to bury Hartmann in his hometown of Mays Landing. No information was given on a cause of death.

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A debt of gratitude is owed not only to Harry J. Hartmann, Jr. and the ultimate sacrifice he made in service of his country, but also to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency for never giving up these unidentified, but never forgotten, veterans.

No word on whether Hartmann still has relatives living in Mays Landing, but they must be so relieved to have closure.