Oklahoma solider killed during the Korean War in 1950 is finally coming home.

Times Record Staff
Published 8:38 a.m. CT Dec. 22, 2020 | Updated 6:45 p.m. CT Dec. 22, 2020



Sgt. Billy Very Rodgers of Panama, Okla. has been accounted for the U.S. Department of Defense after being killed in action in 1950. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

An Army sergeant from Panama, Oklahoma who was killed during the Korean War has been identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. ... Billy V. Rodgers was 19 when he was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950. He was accounted for on April 9, 2020, the POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced recently.

In late 1950, Rodgers was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division. His unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered, the agency noted.

On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were then given over to the POW/MIA agency laboratory for identification.

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Rodgers will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, at a later date that has yet to be determined. ..For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.

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. The agency is also on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa and their phone number is (703) 699-1420/1169.