Remains of 1950s POW to be buried

The remains of a Philadelphia soldier declared missing in action during the Korean War have been identified and will be buried this week, the Defense Department said Monday.

Army Pfc. George A. Porter, 21, was taken prisoner Feb. 11, 1951, during the battle of Hoengsong, said the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office.

Porter, of Battery B, 15th Field Artillery Battalion, was unaccounted for until the 1990s, when North Korea gave the United States more than 200 boxes of remains from the war.

Documents delivered with some of the boxes indicated the remains came from a place in the area of the Suan Bean Camp and Suan Mining Camp, where war prisoners were held. Porter was believed to have been held in Suan.

A metal identification tag with Porter's name was included with the remains.

DNA from remains matched DNA from Porter's sister and nephew, and a positive identification was made last year.

The Defense Department said Porter's burial is scheduled for Friday in the Somerton section of Northeast Philadelphia.