A teenage US soldier went missing during the Korean War. Now, 75 years later, his remains have been accounted for

NewsWorldAmericasA teenage US soldier went missing during the Korean War. Now, 75 years later, his remains have been accounted forU.S. Army Sergeant Celestino Chavez Jr. of Gallup, New Mexico, had left a letter with his mother telling her not to cry if he didn’t make it back from the warMike Bedigan in New York Wednesday 15 April 2026 20:03 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2958457","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/teenage-soldier-remains-korean-war-b2958457.html","title":"Teenage US soldier who went missing in the Korean War identified 75 years later"}}open image in gallery{"id":"trigger-autogallery-20060","index":0}(The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_Evening_Newsletter","regTitle":"Evening Headlines","subscriptionGroup":"us_evening_headlines","subscriptionGroupId":"4326e634-422a-4447-8e1e-604a937cd3b5","type":"daily_news","pathPrefix":["/us","/news/world/americas","/news/world/americas/crime"],"title":"The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday","mobileTitle":"Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/usEveningHeadlines1_1.png","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email","newsletterKey":"rec...