Killed in the Korean War, Capt. Yde has been accounted for

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced earlier in April that U.S. Army Capt. Erik F. Yde, 32, of San Francisco, California, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for June 22, 2023.

In June 1950, Yde was a member of Headquarters, Headquarters Battery, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. Yde was captured as a prisoner of war (POW) after his unit was forced to retreat from Wonju in the vicinity of Hoengsong, South Korea. Due to intense fighting in the area, Yde was separated from his unit and was last seen attempting to penetrate an enemy roadblock. In 1953, several POWs returned during Operation Big Switch reported Yde had been a prisoner of war and died in June, 1951, at Prisoner of War Camp #1.

In the fall of 1953, during Operation Glory, North Korea returned remains reportedly recovered from Changsong, also known as Prisoner of War Camp #1, to the United Nations Command. However, Yde’s name did not appear on any of the transfer rosters and the Central Identification Unit in Kokura, Japan, did not associate any repatriated remains with him. Yde was determined non-recoverable in January 1956.

In July 2018, the DPAA proposed a plan to disinter 652 Korean War Unknowns from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In January 2020, the DPAA disinterred Unknown X-14275, a set of remains returned during Operation Glory, as part of Phase Two of the Korean War Disinterment Plan and sent the remains to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.

To identify Yde’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as chest radiograph comparison and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Capt. Yde’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Capt. Yde will be buried in Walnut Creek, California, on April 29, 2024.