STORY. YOU’LL SEE ONLY ON FOUR. HE WAS KILLED DURING THE KOREAN WAR IN 1950. 72 YEARS LATER, ARMY VETERAN CHARLES CARROLL JR WAS IDENTIFIED THROUGH HIS REMAINS AND TODAY HE WAS GIVEN A FULL MILITARY FUNERAL. 76 YEARS AFTER HE WAS KILLED. CORPORAL CHARLES CARROLL JR. HE MADE A BOLD DECISION TO DROP OUT OF TAYLOR ALLDERDICE HIGH SCHOOL TO ENLIST IN THE ARMY. HE WAS ONLY 17. CARROLL WAS A MEMBER OF B COMPANY, FIRST BATTALION, 32ND INFANTRY REGIMENT, SEVENTH INFANTRY DIVISION. HE TOOK HIS LAST BREATH DURING THE RETREAT FROM THE CHOSIN RESERVOIR. IT WAS DECEMBER 2ND, 1952 MONTHS AFTER HIS 18TH BIRTHDAY. CARROLL IS SURVIVED BY HIS NIECE, LEEANNA GRAY, AND COUSINS. HER MOTHER, VALERIE, WAS CARROLL’S OLDER SISTER. HERE ARE BROTHER AND SISTER. BEFORE HE TRAVELED OFF TO WAR WITH THEIR MOTHER, LOIS, ON THE RIGHT, GRAY SAYS HER MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER WERE NOTIFIED THAT CARROLL AND OTHER DEAD SOLDIERS WERE LEFT BEHIND. DECLARED MISSING IN ACTION. THEY DIDN’T KNOW WHETHER HIS YOU KNOW, HE WAS IN. HIS BONES WERE BEING PICKED APART BY, SCAVENGERS OR WHETHER HE HAD BEEN, YOU KNOW, JUST TOSSED IN A MASS GRAVE. GRAY’S GRANDMOTHER’S GREATEST HOPE WAS THAT CARROLL’S REMAINS WOULD BE FOUND SO HE COULD BE BURIED NEXT TO HER AT CALVARY CEMETERY IN HAZELWOOD IN 1998, GRAY’S MOTHER JOINED THE DEFENSE. POWMIA ACCOUNTING AGENCIES DNA PROJECT WHICH USED MITOCHONDRIAL DNA TO IDENTIFY SOLDIERS. AFTER GRAY’S MOTHER PASSED, GRAY CONTRIBUTED HER OWN DNA. AUTHORITIES WERE ABLE TO MATCH THEIRS WITH CARROLL’S TO SUCCESSFULLY IDENTIFY HIS REMAINS. CARROLL’S REMAINS WERE BURIED AT THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL CEMETERY OF THE PACIFIC IN HONOLULU. FOR DECADES. HE WAS BROUGHT BACK TO PITTSBURGH LAST WEEK. I’M TERRIBLY GRATEFUL THAT I WAS THAT THAT THIS HAPPENED WHILE I WAS STILL ALIVE. I FEEL LIKE I’VE FULFILLED HER PROMISE TO MY GRANDMOTHER, MY PROMISE TO MY MOTHER. CHARLES CARROLL, SENIOR IS NOW LAID TO REST NEXT TO HIS MOTHER,
Korean War veteran laid to rest in Pittsburgh 76 years after his death
Updated: 10:04 PM EDT May 22, 2026
Army Cpl. Charles Carroll Jr. was laid to rest Friday next to his mother, Louise, after he was killed in 1950 during the Korean War.Watch the report in the video player aboveThe following is the obituary that chronicles the life of Carroll, a story told by his surviving niece, Liana Gray.”Rather than finish high school, during the Autumn of 1949, Buddy enlisted in the Army, serving in B Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was eventually sent to Korea. Buddy was a casualty of the retreat from the Chosin Reservoir. On December 2nd, 1950, he was killed, and his body was left behind as the UN forces could only bring out the walking wounded. He was listed as Missing in Action, although by a curious set of circumstances, his family found out he was dead before he was declared Killed in Action at the end of the War in 1953. His death had been witnessed by a friend who wrote to his mother about it (before he himself was killed). She, in turn, sent a sympathy card to Buddy’s family. The two mothers corresponded with one another throughout the years until Louise’s death in 1987, at which time Valerie continued the correspondence until the other mother’s death.Louise was always hopeful that Buddy’s remains would be located and identified so he could be brought home and buried with her. Valerie promised her mother that this would be done if he were ever identified, and in 1998, she became part of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s DNA project, which was using mitochondrial DNA for identification purposes. Liana contributed her DNA in 2011.Seven decades passed, and everyone who knew Buddy had died. On Oct. 3, 2025, Liana received the call that Buddy’s remains had been identified. Through several phone calls and a meeting with the Army, she learned that during Operation Glory (1954), North Korea returned remains believed to be those of American service members, including one set designated as Unknown X-15841. These remains, reportedly recovered from the east side of the Chosin Reservoir, were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu (The Punch Bowl). On May 16, 2022, as part of Phase Four of DPAA’s Korean War Disinterment Project, X-15841 was disinterred and accessioned into a DPAA Laboratory for analysis. There, scientists used modern forensic techniques, including the DNA donated by his sister and niece, to identify Buddy, on Aug. 5, 2025.He is being returned to Pittsburgh for a dignified transfer of his remains on May 14. He will receive full military honors upon arrival at the airport, and his motorcade will include an honor guard to the funeral home. The family will have a public visitation on May 22, from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the Edward P Kanai Funeral Home, 500 Greenfield Avenue. 15207. He will receive a military funeral and be buried in the family plot at Calvary Cemetery, with his mother, as she wished. Following the visitation, all are welcome to attend.The family wants to thank all the scientists, members of the DPAA, Army personnel, and others who made it possible to bring Buddy home. May his mother’s and sister’s hearts now be at peace.”Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.
PITTSBURGH —
Army Cpl. Charles Carroll Jr. was laid to rest Friday next to his mother, Louise, after he was killed in 1950 during the Korean War.
Watch the report in the video player above
The following is the obituary that chronicles the life of Carroll, a story told by his surviving niece, Liana Gray.
WTAE
Funeral for Cpl. Charles Carroll Jr.
“Rather than finish high school, during the Autumn of 1949, Buddy enlisted in the Army, serving in B Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was eventually sent to Korea. Buddy was a casualty of the retreat from the Chosin Reservoir. On December 2nd, 1950, he was killed, and his body was left behind as the UN forces could only bring out the walking wounded. He was listed as Missing in Action, although by a curious set of circumstances, his family found out he was dead before he was declared Killed in Action at the end of the War in 1953. His death had been witnessed by a friend who wrote to his mother about it (before he himself was killed). She, in turn, sent a sympathy card to Buddy’s family. The two mothers corresponded with one another throughout the years until Louise’s death in 1987, at which time Valerie continued the correspondence until the other mother’s death.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Cpl. Charles Carroll Jr.
Louise was always hopeful that Buddy’s remains would be located and identified so he could be brought home and buried with her. Valerie promised her mother that this would be done if he were ever identified, and in 1998, she became part of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s DNA project, which was using mitochondrial DNA for identification purposes. Liana contributed her DNA in 2011.
Seven decades passed, and everyone who knew Buddy had died. On Oct. 3, 2025, Liana received the call that Buddy’s remains had been identified. Through several phone calls and a meeting with the Army, she learned that during Operation Glory (1954), North Korea returned remains believed to be those of American service members, including one set designated as Unknown X-15841. These remains, reportedly recovered from the east side of the Chosin Reservoir, were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu (The Punch Bowl). On May 16, 2022, as part of Phase Four of DPAA’s Korean War Disinterment Project, X-15841 was disinterred and accessioned into a DPAA Laboratory for analysis. There, scientists used modern forensic techniques, including the DNA donated by his sister and niece, to identify Buddy, on Aug. 5, 2025.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Cpl. Charles Carroll Jr. with his mother, Louise (right), and sister, Valerie (left)
He is being returned to Pittsburgh for a dignified transfer of his remains on May 14. He will receive full military honors upon arrival at the airport, and his motorcade will include an honor guard to the funeral home. The family will have a public visitation on May 22, from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the Edward P Kanai Funeral Home, 500 Greenfield Avenue. 15207. He will receive a military funeral and be buried in the family plot at Calvary Cemetery, with his mother, as she wished. Following the visitation, all are welcome to attend.
The family wants to thank all the scientists, members of the DPAA, Army personnel, and others who made it possible to bring Buddy home. May his mother’s and sister’s hearts now be at peace.”
WTAE
Funeral for Cpl. Charles Carroll Jr.
Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.