Remains of Oklahoma soldier missing from Korean War return

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The remains of a U.S. soldier have been returned to his home state of Oklahoma nearly 70 years after he was taken prisoner during the Korean War.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Alfred Bensinger Jr.’s remains arrived Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency says Bensinger’s remains were among those of 32 people found near Unsan, North Korea, in 2005. Bensinger was identified in July at a lab in Honolulu.

Bensinger’s son, Gary Clayton, says he is “blown away” that his father was found.

Funeral services are scheduled Friday at Fort Sill National Cemetery in Elgin, Oklahoma, about 75 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.

The DPAA says Bensinger was captured Nov. 30, 1950, and returning American prisoners of war reported that he died at a POW camp in January 1951.