Texas Border Business
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar, Ph.D. (TX-28) commended the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) for identifying and returning Army Sergeant Cresenciano Garcia, Jr., to Laredo. Sergeant Garcia, Jr., of Laredo died as a prisoner of war in 1951 during the Korean War and was accounted for on April 25, 2023, by DPAA. He was buried in Laredo on October 14, 2023.
“Sergeant Crescenciano Garcia, Jr., was a hero who gave his life in service to his country during the Korean War. Through the tireless work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Sergeant Garcia, Jr., was identified after more than 50 years of being declared missing in action. Now, he’s home and at rest in the company of his family and friends,” said Dr. Cuellar, a Senior Member of the House Appropriations Committee. “The great work of the DPAA cannot be overstated as they have accounted for 199 Texas POW/MIAs going back to World War II. As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, I will ensure DPAA is provided with the funding it needs to continue accounting for our nation’s missing personnel. Thank you to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, and thank you to Sergeant Garcia, Jr., for your service to our country.”
The following is a recollection of Sergeant Garcia, Jr.’s accounting by the DPAA: “In August 1950, Sergeant Crescenciano Garcia, Jr., was a member of Headquarters Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2ndInfantry Division. He was reported missing in action on December 1 during a battle just south of Kunu-ri, South Korea. His remains could not be immediately recovered, and he was officially declared dead on or around February 28, 1951, in POW Camp 5, in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.).
“In 1954 the opposing nations reached an agreement to exchange war dead, the execution of which was known as Operation GLORY. Sergeant Garcia, Jr.’s remains were later transported with all the unidentified Korean War remains and buried as Unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1956.
“On December 9, 2019, DPAA personnel exhumed Unknown Remains X-14189 for further scientific testing and analysis. To identify [these as] Sergeant Garcia, Jr.’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.”
Sergeant Garcia, Jr., was accounted for on April 25, 2023, by DPAA, and buried in Laredo on October 14, 2023. To read more about Sergeant Garcia, Jr., click here.
Dr. Cuellar is a strong supporter of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, he supported $129,555,000 in federal funding for DPAA in FY22, and $150,021,000 in FY23.
