Presumed U.S. Korean War remains return to American soil
Honorable carry ceremony held in Hawaii to welcome apparent remains of United States soldiers from North Korea.
In a pair of overnight tweets, President Trump sent his thanks early Thursday to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for returning 55 boxes presumed to contain the remains of Americans who served in the Korean War.
"Thank you to Chairman Kim Jong Un for keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen!" Trump wrote in one tweet. "I am not at all surprised that you took this kind action. Also, thank you for your nice letter - l look forward to seeing you soon!"
The return of the remains was part of an agreement reached by Trump and Kim during a June summit in Singapore.
North Korea handed over the remains last week. A U.S. military plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve the 55 cases.
Hundreds of U.S. and South Korean troops gathered for a repatriation ceremony at the Osan base in South Korea before the cases were put on military planes bound for Hawaii.
Pence at honorable carry ceremony: Our boys are coming home
Vice President Mike Pence represents the Trump administration at honorable carry ceremony for presumed remains of U.S. soldiers returned by North Korea.
On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence and the top commander of U.S. forces in Asia, Navy Adm. Phil Davidson, formally received the remains during the emotional and solemn ceremony in Hawaii.
Pence spoke during a ceremony at Hawaii's Hickam Air Force Base to mark the arrival of the remains on U.S. soil and the beginning of the long process of identifying them.
"They were husbands and fathers, brothers and neighbors — long gone, but never lost to the memory of their loved ones."
"They were husbands and fathers, brothers and neighbors — long gone, but never lost to the memory of their loved ones," Pence said.
Some of the invited guests wiped tears from their eyes during the procession.
Robert Sanfilkippo, second right, sits next to his wife, Diana Brown Sanfilippo who has spent a lifetime searching for her father, 1st Lt. Frank Salazar who died 66 years ago in North Korea, who wipes her eyes as she sits in the audience with Karen Pence, wife of Vice President Mike Pence, at a ceremony marking the arrival of the remains believed to be of American service members who fell in the Korean War at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018. Second from left is Rick Downes, who was three when his father Hal went off to the Korean War, and he has been missing ever since. (Associated Press)
Trump lauded Pence and the ceremony in an earlier tweet.
"Incredibly beautiful ceremony as U.S. Korean War remains are returned to American soil. Thank you to Honolulu and all of our great Military participants on a job well done," Trump tweeted late Wednesday night. "A special thanks to Vice President Mike Pence on delivering a truly magnificent tribute!"
Pence also said Trump was grateful Kim kept his word.
"We see today as tangible progress in our efforts to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula," the vice president said.
Military members carry transfer cases from a C-17 at a ceremony marking the arrival of the remains believed to be of American service members who fell in the Korean War at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, Aug. 1, 2018. (Associated Press)
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said last week that the return of the 55 cases was a positive step but not a guarantee that the bones are American soldiers.
At the repatriation ceremony in South Korea, the cases were draped in United Nations flags in a possible sign of that uncertainty. On Wednesday, however, the cases were draped in U.S. flags.
NORTH KOREA RETURNED 1 DOG TAG WITH 55 SETS OF SOLDIER REMAINS, US OFFICIAL SAYS
Nearly 7,700 U.S. service members were listed as missing and unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War. The Pentagon estimates that of the approximately 7,700 U.S. MIAs from the Korean War, about 5,300 are unaccounted for on North Korean soil.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency will take the remains to a lab on the base where forensic anthropologists will study bones and teeth to identify their race, gender and age. Scientists will extract DNA and compare it to DNA samples collected from families of troops still missing from the war.
It could take months or years to determine their identities.
"(T)his is an international effort to bring closure for those families."
"(T)his is an international effort to bring closure for those families," Mattis had said.
The Associated Press and Fox News' Samuel Chamberlain contributed to this report.
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