OBITUARY OF CPL KENNETH R. STUCK

     Corporal Kenneth Richard Stuck, a native of Hummelstown, was born on July 25, 1930, one of eight children to Charles M. and Minnie E. Speck Stuck.  
     Cpl. Stuck proudly enlisted in the U.S. Army on May 1, 1950.  He was assigned to L Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Calvary Regiment, 1st Calvary Division and bravely went with his unit to fight in the Korean War.  On approximately November 2, 1950, Cpl. Stuck was killed in a battle against the enemy near Unsan, North Korea.  After being listed as “missing in action” for almost 65 years his remains were recovered in North Korea and will be returned to his hometown on Thursday, January 28, 2015.       

     Cpl. Stuck was awarded posthumously the Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Korea War Service Medal, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.   
     Prior to enlisting in the service Cpl. Stuck worked at the former Nate Hose Ball Factory in Palmyra.  He had attended the former Hummelstown High School where he enjoyed playing baseball.  Cpl. Stuck was a member of the former Evangelical United Brethren Church, Hummelstown.  His family remembers him as a loving and caring man.  
     Cpl. Stuck is survived by one brother, MSG Clarence L. Stuck (United States Army Retired) husband of Kathy F. of Manheim; one sister, June Hancock of New Cumberland; and numerous nieces and nephews.
     In addition to his parents, Cpl. Stuck was preceded in death by two sisters, Mary Keefer and Virginia Koons; and three brothers, Charles A. Stuck, Edward M. Stuck, and Robert W. Stuck.
     A presentation of Cpl. Stuck’s medals to his family will be held at 9:45 AM on Saturday, January 30, 2016, in the Evangelical Free Church of Hershey, 330 Hilltop Road, Hummelstown.

     A time to visit with Cpl. Stuck’s family will be held Saturday, January 30, 2016, from 10:00 to 11:00 AM in the Evangelical Free Church of Hershey.  The funeral service will begin at 11:00 AM on Saturday in the church with The Rev. George Davis officiating.    
     Following the service, Cpl. Stuck will finally be laid to rest with his parents in the Hummelstown Cemetery with military honors accorded.
     Trefz & Bowser Funeral Home, Inc., 114 West Main Street, Hummelstown, is handling the arrangements.
     In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be given in memory of the sacrifice that Cpl. Stuck gave to his country to the Korean War Veterans Association Chapter #327, c/o Mr. Henry A. Clay, Treasurer, 28 Jackson Drive, Elizabethtown, PA  17022-3139.
     Online condolences may be shared at www.trefzandbowser.com.

COORDINATES OF RESTING PLACE

 40.2608° N, -76.7120° W

Medical Examiner Summary Report

DPAA Number:            DPAA15-0048
Case Number:              CIL 1993-237-I-01
Name:                         Stuck, Kenneth Richard
Date of Birth:               25 July 1930
Service Number:           RA13342892
Rank/Service:               Corporal (Cpl), U.S. Army
Unit:                            L Co, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cav Regiment,
                                       1st Cav Division
Location of Loss:           Chonsung-ri, North Korea
Date of Loss:                2 November 1950
Date of Identification:    30 October 2015
Date of Report:             24 November 2015

BACKGROUND

On the night of 1-2 November 1950, the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces (CPVF) attacked the 8th Cavalry at Unsan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K./North Korea), forcing a night withdrawal to the south.  On 2 November, L Company was part of a screening force defending the withdrawal route when the CPVF attacked again, eventually forcing elements of 3 rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry (3/8 Cavalry) to regroup after days of fighting the CPVF.  With no hope of rescue or resupply, the able-bodied soldiers of 3/8 Cavalry attempted to escape and evade the enemy on the night of 4 November, leaving behind the wounded in the care of the Battalion Surgeon.  Most of the escaping soldiers were captured and marched north to Prisoner of War (POW) camps.  Private First Class (Pfc) Kenneth R. Stuck was declared Missing in Action (MIA) as a result of the fighting that occurred on 2 November 1950.   Private First Class STUCK never appeared on any list of POWs held, nor did any returning POWs have any knowledge of his fate.  The U.S. Army declared Pfc STUCK dead on 31 December 1953, and posthumously promoted him to the rank of Corporal (Cpl), effective 1 May 1953.

Corporal Stuck’s remains were not returned by the D.P.R.K. nor were they recovered by the U.S. Army Graves Registration Service at the end of the Korean War.  However, from 1990 to 1994, D.P.R.K. representatives turned over a total of 208 boxes of remains that they purported to be American.  It was soon discovered that individual boxes contained the remains of more than one person and remains of the same person were sometimes in different boxes.  On 30 November 1993, the D.P.R.K. unilaterally turned over 33 boxes of remains purported to be unaccounted-for U.S. servicemen from the Korean War. The D.P.R.K. reported that they recovered the remains eventually designated as CIL 1993-237 from Chonsung-ri, Unsan County, North Pyongan Province, D.P.R.K. Chonsung-ri corresponds with the locations where  the CPVF and the 3/8 Cavalry fought in early November 1950. 

 SUMMARY OF IDENTIFICATION

DNA Analysis:

DNA testing is performed at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL), Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, Dover AFB, DE.  Tests include mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which traces the maternal (mother’s) line of inheritance; Y-chromosome DNA (YSTR), which traces the paternal (father’s) line of inheritance; and autosomal DNA (auSTR)  which is individual specific.  However, in this case, none Of the sampled bones yield reportable auSTR data.

All of the bones are sampled for DNA testing and yield an mtDNA sequence that is consistent with the maternal references associated with four missing service members from the Korean War, one of whom is Cpl Kenneth R. Stuck.  Two of these service members are excluded from consideration on the basis of inconsistent loss location.  The genetic data (mtDNA only) for the bones tested are conservatively up to 275 times more likely to be observed under the scenario that the family reference samples compared to the bone samples submitted originate from maternal relatives (a brother and sister) of Cpl Kenneth R. Stuck than from unrelated individuals in the general Caucasian population.

To strengthen the case and eliminate the other possible matching service member, Y-STR testing is also performed.  A right forearm bone (ulna) and the left thigh bone both yield partial Y-STR profiles that are consistent with a paternal reference (brother) of Cpl Kenneth R. Stuck.  This testing excludes the one other service member with the same mtDNA sequence as Cpl Stuck.  The genetic data (mtDNA and Y-STR) for the right ulna, the left femur, and the left tibia are up to 167,000 times more likely to be observed under the scenario that the family reference samples compared to the bone samples submitted originate from a paternal relative (brother) of Cpl Kenneth R. Stuck than from an unrelated individual in the general Caucasian population.  Other bones were tested, but yielded insufficient or non-reportable Y-STR data.

Anthropology Analysis:

The examined remains consist of incomplete and fragmentary skeleton in poor condition.  All of the bones are sampled, tested for mtDNA, and those yielding results, share an mtDNA sequence.  Morphologically and developmentally, the remains are those of an adult male, aged 17 – 27 years at death, of indeterminate ancestry, and an estimated stature of 64.7 – 70.3 inches.  No perimortem trauma is observed in the remains.  At the time of his loss, Cpl Kenneth R. Stuck was a 20-year-old white male who stood 67 inches in height.

Consolidation Analysis:

Skeletal remains are consolidated from eight different accessions that were unilaterally turned over by North Korea, on the basis of a shared mitochondrial DNA sequence data. 

Opinion:

The laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available establish the remains as those of Corporal Kenneth Richard Stuck, RA13342892, U.S. Army.

The date of Cpl Stuck''s death was previously established by the U.S. Army as 31 December 1953, with the cause of death not stated. Corporal STUCK was most likely Killed in Action and more accurate date of death would be 4 November 1950; the MIA location was also the location where the remains were claimed to have been recovered from. Based on the available evidence, the cause and manner of death cannot be determined to a sufficient degree of medical certainty, and are best certified as "Undetermined." If additional remains of Cpl Kenneth R. Stuck are recovered and identified, disposition of those remains will be in accordance with the wishes of the next of kin.

                                                                                                         (signed)

                                                                                                         EDWARD A. REEDY, Ph.D., M.D., D-ABP
                                                                                                         Captain, Medical Corps, U.S.Navy
                                                                                                         Science Director
                                                                                                         Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Enclosures (16):

1.      Historical Report: Corporal Kenneth R. STUCK; Democratic People's Republic of Korea; dtd 3 February 2015
2.      Report of Segregation: K208 Sequence 6 (Chongsung-ni Sequence 6); dtd 20 November 2012
3.      Report of Consolidation: Consolidation of Remains Originally Accessioned as CIL 1993113, CIL 1993-115, CIL 1993-117, CIL
         1993-231, CIL 1993-234, CIL 1993-236, CIL  1993-237 and CIL 1993-248 into CIL 1993-237-I-01 (K208 Sequence 6);  dtd 30
         July 2015
4.      Forensic Anthropology Report: CIL 1993-237-I-01; dtd 27 June 2013
5.      Department of Defense; Armed Forces Medical Examiner System; MCMR-MED-MDN; STUCK, Kenneth R. (BTB); CIL Case No.
         1993-113; AFDIL Case No. 1999H-0535; dtd December 12, 2014
6.      Department of Defense; Armed Forces Medical Examiner System; MCMR-MED-MDN; STUCK, Kenneth R. (BTB); CIL Case No.
         1993-115; AFDIL Case No. 2002H-0974; dtdOctober 14, 2015
7.      Department of Defense; Armed Forces Medical Examiner System; MCMR-MED-MDN; STUCK, Kenneth R. (BTB); CIL Case No.
         1993-117; AFDIL Case No. 2002H-0975; dtd December 11, 2014
8.      Department of Defense; Armed Forces Medical Examiner System; MCMR-MED-MDN; STUCK, Kenneth R. (BTB); CIL Case No.
         1993-231; AFDIL Case No. 2001H-0005; dtd  October 6, 2015

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