New York National Guard Renders Honors to Korean War MIA Soldier Thursday, May 20 in Schuylerville

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Cpl. Clifford S. Johnson

LATHAM, NY (05/19/2021) (readMedia)-- A New York Army National Guard Honor Guard and New York National Guard leaders will render funeral honors to Korean War Veteran Cpl. Clifford Johnson as he is laid to rest at Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville, N.Y. Thursday, May 20.

WHO: Maj. Gen. Ray Shields, the Adjutant General of New York, and members of the New York Military Forces Honor Guard join the family of Cpl. Clifford Johnson.

WHAT: Final military honors for the funeral service of Korean War Soldier Cpl. Clifford Johnson. Major General Ray Shields will present an American flag to members of the Soldier's family. Johnson's remains return more than 70 years after the December 1950 Battle of Chosin Reservoir in which he was killed.

WHEN: 2:30 p.m., Thursday, May 20, 2021.

WHERE: Burial with full military honors at Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery, 200 Duell Road, Schuylerville.

Media Opportunity:

Imagery of full military honors for the burial of Korean War missing Soldier Cpl. Clifford Johnson, including the firing of honors, playing of Taps, and the presentation of the folded American flag to the family. A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flyover is scheduled in support of the ceremony.

Army Cpl. Clifford Johnson

Clifford S. Johnson of Valatie, New York, was born October 22, 1930 and enlisted in the United States Army October 3, 1949.

Johnson served as a field wireman with Headquarters Battery, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division, part of the 2,500 U.S. and 700 South Korean soldiers belonging to the 31st Regimental Combat Team in November 1950.

During United Nations efforts to unify the Korean Peninsula by driving the North Korean People's Army north near the Yalu River in the fall of 1950, Johnson and the 31st Regimental Combat Team occupied the east side of the Chosin Reservoir. The mission of the force was to to secure the flanks of the advancing 7th and 5th Marine Corps Regiments and the main supply route before attacking north toward the Manchurian border.

The 30,000 United Nations troops were soon encircled and attacked by approximately 120,000 Chinese Peoples Volunteer Forces who attacked United Nations' forces along the Yalu in the in what is called the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, between November 27 and December 13, 1950.

After an initial defensive fight, Johnson fought with the remnants of the 31st Regimental Combat Team, known as Task Force Faith for its commander, Lt. Col. Don Faith, the commander of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, who led the force after the 31st Regimental Combat Team commander was killed in action.

The task force fought off attacks of the Chinese 80th and 81st divisions before breaking out from its defensive positions December 1.

Johnson was lost December 2, 1950 in the vicinity of Hagaru-ri, North Korea.

The 57th Field Artillery Battalion Headquarters Battery morning report listed Johnson as missing in action on December 6, 1950. Rapid movements and sustained combat at the Chosin Reservoir during the subsequent breakout to the coast prohibited Soldiers' abilities to act as witnesses to the disappearances or deaths of their comrades.

Of the 1,777 American Soldiers with the 31st Regimental Combat Team during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, 1,392 wound up missing in action, unrecovered killed or prisoners of war, by December 12, 1950.

Lt. Col. Faith received the Medal of Honor, posthumously, for his leadership of the task force at Chosin. An additional ten Soldiers of the task force received the Distinguished Service Cross, three posthumously, for their valor in the battle.

Johnson's name did not appear on any prisoner of war lists, and no returning prisoners of war reported that he had been captured.

He was presumed dead on December 31, 1953.

Johnson was a private first class at the time of his loss, but with his presumptive finding of death in 1953, the Army promoted him to the grade of corporal.

The government of North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, released additional remains to the U.S. government on July 27, 2018.

On August 1, 2018, 55 boxes of remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Laboratory for scientific analysis and possible identification.

To identify Johnson's remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA and autosomal DNA analysis.

His remains were confirmed on April 16, 2020.

Johnson's name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing in Honolulu, along with the others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Today, 6,508 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War.

His awards include the Purple Heart, the Army Good Combat Ribbon, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Republic of Korea Presidential Citation, the Korean War Service Medal, the Army Presidential Unit Citation and the Army Good Conduct Medal.

Services for Cpl. Johnson will be on May 20, 2021 at the Raymond E. Bond Funeral Home, 1015 Kinderhook Street, Valatie, N.Y., 12184 from 10 a.m. to noon. The funeral precession is scheduled to leave the funeral home around 12:30 p.m. to drive around town, pass the high school Johnson attended, and then head up to Saratoga National.