'Our boys are coming home': Presumed US remains returned by North Korea arrive in Hawaii

Thomas Maresca, Christal Hayes | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Presumed Korean War veteran remains begin journey home from South Korea Fifty five caskets containing the remains of American troops were carried onboard a plane bound for Hawaii during a South Korean repatriation ceremony.

Vice President Mike Pence welcomed home 55 sets of remains believed to be American soldiers who didn't make it home more than 60 years ago after fighting in the Korean War.

In a sobering ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, Pence spoke of the thousands of missing soldiers after the war from 1950-1953 and America's quest to return them to the U.S. He touched on the heroes from the war, the history of tensions with North Korea and the future, in what the U.S. hopes will be a new peaceful relationship.

"Today our boys are coming home," Pence told the crowd at the ceremony at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

Four members of the military — one from each branch — carried each metal, flag-draped casket off two military transport planes. Pence, the son of a Korean War combat veteran, said he was "humbled" to greet these remains, adding "the real heroes were the ones who didn't get to come home."

He thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for keeping his promise to return the remains and added the U.S. would continue to look for the rest of its more than 5,000 missing soldiers.

"Today is just the beginning," Pence told the crowd. "Our work will not be complete until all of our fallen heroes are accounted for and home."

On Twitter, President Donald Trump called the ceremony "incredibly beautiful" in one tweet and later thanked Kim for "keeping your word & starting the process of sending home the remains of our great and beloved missing fallen!"

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. A special thanks to Vice President Mike Pence on delivering a truly magnificent tribute! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2018

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! 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! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2018

Wednesday's ceremony was just the start of a lengthy process that aims to identify the remains. Already, officials have confirmed, after a forensic review, that the remains are human and likely American soldiers.

The remains, which were flown from Wonsan, North Korea to an American Air Force base outside of Seoul on July 27, were given a two-day field forensic review, said Dr. John Byrd, laboratory director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

“The remains are what the DPRK officials said they were,” he told reporters, using the official name for North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. “They appear to be remains from the Korean War. They are likely to be American remains.”

Byrd, speaking before the ceremony, confirmed that a single dog tag ID was also returned and noted the family of the soldier had been notified. However, he cautioned that a positive connection between the dog tag and any of the remains had not yet been made.

Byrd said that other evidence, such as boots, helmets and canteens was also excavated, helping further indicate that the soldiers were Americans.

"The remains are consistent with remains that we have recovered in North Korea through our own recovery efforts in the past," he said.

The remains will now be transferred to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s lab, where they will undergo analysis to identify the individual soldiers. It will likely take from several months to years to identify the remains, according to a DPAA spokesperson.

American officials gave credit to the June summit held between Trump and Kim for the transfer and Wednesday's repatriation.

The transfer was the “a tangible result of the commitment made by President Trump and Chairman Kim in Singapore,” said Angela Kerwin, Consul General at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. She said that no payment had been made to North Korea for the remains.

That meeting in Singapore included an agreement for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula but lacked any concrete timetable or means for how it would occur. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed before the Senate last week that North Korea was continuing to produce fuel for their nuclear weapons.

A report in the Washington Post on Monday, citing U.S. spy agencies, claimed that North Korea is also still building long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States.

Pence made no mention of the reports during Wednesday's ceremony when speaking of relations with North Korea.

At a repatriation ceremony, before the remains arrived in Hawaii, 55 transfer cases draped in the blue United Nations flag were arranged inside an airplane hangar at Osan Air Base —located some 40 miles south of Seoul. The United Nations Command, led by the U.S., fought alongside South Korea during the Korean War.

Korean War vets react to MIA remains return North Korea’s return of possible American remains from the Korean War on the anniversary of the Korean War Armistice is garning praise from the war's veterans. (27 July)

Dignitaries from the 16 countries that fought under the U.N. banner during the 1950-1953 conflict laid wreaths to honor the fallen soldiers, which were given a 21-gun salute by U.S. riflemen. Taps and the national anthems of the U.S. and South Korea were played, and the cases were transferred by van to the airstrip. An aerial salute known as the “missing man formation” was conducted by F-16s before the remains were loaded on a pair of cargo planes.

In remarks at the ceremony, General Vincent Brooks, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, called the repatriation of remains “a cherished duty, a commitment made to one another before going into battle and passed on from one generation of warriors to the next.”

He said the event was a “solemn reminder that our work is not complete until all have been accounted for, no matter how long it takes to do so.”

"This is a great first step in terms of bringing all Americans home," said Rear Admiral Jon Kreitz, the deputy director of the DPAA. “We look forward to potentially pursuing recovery operations in North Korea and we’re hopeful. Again, this is a great first step in building some confidence and a relationship.”

About 7,700 U.S. soldiers are listed as missing from the Korean War, and 5,300 of the remains are believed to still be in North Korea. The war killed millions, including 36,000 American soldiers.