Data Sources - Air Force Manual No. 200-25A, Department of the Air Force, Washington, October 16, 1961 page 1. Sanitized copy. National Archives KOREAN Conflict Casualty File (KCCF) 1950-1954.
03/92 -- Korea, and the men yet to be accounted for -- the "official list" -- is a list of U.S. servicemen known to have been
held as prisoners of war by the red Chinese and North Koreans from the Korean War
but not released or accounted for by the communists, as released on May 27,
1957 at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on the Far East and Pacific by the Department
of Defense.
The lists, the printed minutes of the May 27, 1957 hearing and the
"sense of congress" resolution were subsequently buried in the
archives. The original list had 450 names compiled from American POWS who were
repatriated by the Reds, as well as from photographs released by the Reds, Chinese
radio propaganda broadcasts, and letters written home by captured men. The "revised" list was narrowed down in august of 1961 to 389 men, and
all were arbitrarily declared dead by the military services, the USG still
lists them as "unaccounted for".
Names and ranks only were released at the time, and printed in "The
Spotlight" on August 27, 1979, along with the above information and background.
Further information has been compiled by the P.O.W. Network from the Hawaii POW/MIA
Korean Memorial records, National Archives documentation, and public United
States Air Force documentation, and changes made to the original published
information. (FEBRUARY 1992)
Joseph Kepford is listed on the "HONOR ROLL OF FORGOTTEN AMERICANS" yet
is noted as having died "while missing" by the National Archive.
03/12/2021
- KOREAN WAR
- UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
- Unaccounted For
Captain Joseph Clarence Kepford, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Iowa, was a member of the 8th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter-Bomber Group. On October 7, 1950, he took off from Taegu Air Base, South Korea, in an F-80C Shooting Star (tail number 49-461) as the number three aircraft on a four-plane armed reconnaissance mission along the main supply route between Pyongyang and Sariwon. While en route to the target area, Capt Kepford's aircraft suffered a malfunction. He was ordered to return to base with the number four aircraft accompanying him. The number four pilot received permission to make a bomb run on an enemy train three miles south of Hwangju, so that he could use his ordnance before returning to base. Captain Kepford radioed that he would circle over the target and wait for the number four pilot while the latter made his run. While waiting, Capt Kepford's aircraft was hit by enemy ground fire, causing it to crash. Witnesses from other aircraft on the flight reported seeing the crash, as well as a pilot believed to be Capt Kepford parachuting to the ground east of the wreckage. However, attempts to contact Capt Kepford by radio were unsuccessful, and further investigations of the area found no sign of him. No returning POWs mentioned having contact with Capt Kepford, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. He has not been associated with any remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Captain Kepford is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Deferred.
If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.