WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced recently that U.S. Army Sgt. George M. Barbiere, 23, of Hicksville, New York, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for Feb. 26, 2025.

Barbiere’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification; therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.

In the winter of 1950, Barbiere was assigned to Service Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action Dec. 2, near Twigae, North Korea. Lacking evidence of continued survival, the U.S. Army issued a presumptive finding of death of Dec. 31, 1953.

In September and October 1954, Chinese Communist Forces returned the remains of Korean War losses to the United Nations Command during Operation Glory. One set, which could not be positively identified at the time was designated as Unknown X-15759. In 1956, those losses at the Central Identification Unit-Kokura, Japan, which could not be identified, including Unknown X-15759, were transferred to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, also known as the Punchbowl.

In July 2018, DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the Punchbowl. On March 29, 2021, DPAA personnel disinterred Unknown X-15759 as part of Phase Three of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent those remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

To identify Barbiere, DPAA scientists used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis and mitochondrial genome sequencing data.

Barbiere’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Barbiere will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, on a date yet to be determined.

For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at 800/892-2490.

To see the most up-to-date statistics on DPAA recovery efforts for those unaccounted for from the Korean War, go to the Korean War fact sheet on the DPAA website at: https://www.dpaa.mil/Resources/Fact-Sheets/Article-View/Article/569610/progress-on-korean-war-personnel-accounting/.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agencywww.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.

Barbiere’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000bHtwGEAS. 

Read Barbiere’s initial ID announcement here: Barbiere.