Missing U.S. Army Soldier From the “Frozen Chosin” Returned Home
The warm summer temperature, green grass and blue sky at Arlington National Cemetery on July 14, 2026, were a stark contrast from North Korea’s snow-covered hills east of the Chosin Reservoir — where, in December 1950, U.S. Army Sgt. DeLoren D. Dage lost his life during one of the most brutal battles in history, remembered as the Battle of the Frozen Chosin. Dage had been holding the line against numerically superior Chinese communist forces that had surrounded his unit and were trying to destroy it. The Chinese were not taking prisoners. Dage was declared missing in action on Dec. 2. He was only 20 years old. In 2002, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) disinterred Dage’s remains and contacted his only living relative, his niece, Jody Bunch of Tucson, Arizona, to provide a DNA sample. When Dage was identified, Jim Bell, an identifications liaison with the Army’s Past Conflict Repatriations Branch, contacted Bunch and told her they had found a match. “I couldn't believe it,” she said. Bell later held a two-hour virtual meeting with Bunch, reviewing all the information about her uncle and explaining his military awards. “He and everyone have been so accommodating and so helpful,” Bunch added. During the full military honors with escort service in Section 57, Chaplain (Capt.) Shannon Demoret emphasized Dage’s heroism in answering his country’s call to duty. “Surrounded and heavily outnumbered, Sgt. Dage stood his ground with Company A of the 32nd Infantry Regiment, holding the line with courage against overwhelming enemy forces.” She also credited DPAA’s tireless efforts to return him home. “The promise to never leave a fallen comrade behind is fulfilled,” she said. “His long, lonely winter on distant soil is over.”
The warm summer temperature, green grass and blue sky at Arlington National Cemetery on July 14, 2026, were a stark contrast from North Korea’s snow-covered hills east of the Chosin Reservoir — where, in December 1950, U.S. Army Sgt. DeLoren D. Dage lost his life during one of the most brutal battles in history, remembered as the Battle of the Frozen Chosin. Dage had been holding the line against numerically superior Chinese communist forces that had surrounded his unit and were trying to destroy it. The Chinese were not taking prisoners. Dage was declared missing in action on Dec. 2. He was only 20 years old.
In 2002, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) disinterred Dage’s remains and contacted his only living relative, his niece, Jody Bunch of Tucson, Arizona, to provide a DNA sample. When Dage was identified, Jim Bell, an identifications liaison with the Army’s Past Conflict Repatriations Branch, contacted Bunch and told her they had found a match. “I couldn't believe it,” she said. Bell later held a two-hour virtual meeting with Bunch, reviewing all the information about her uncle and explaining his military awards. “He and everyone have been so accommodating and so helpful,” Bunch added.
During the full military honors with escort service in Section 57, Chaplain (Capt.) Shannon Demoret emphasized Dage’s heroism in answering his country’s call to duty. “Surrounded and heavily outnumbered, Sgt. Dage stood his ground with Company A of the 32nd Infantry Regiment, holding the line with courage against overwhelming enemy forces.” She also credited DPAA’s tireless efforts to return him home. “The promise to never leave a fallen comrade behind is fulfilled,” she said. “His long, lonely winter on distant soil is over.”
