After 70 Years, Missing American Soldier from Korean War Identified: A Mother's Faith Realized
An American soldier missing since the Korean War has been identified seven decades later, fulfilling his late mother's unwavering belief in his return.
Sub-zero temperatures. Frigid winds. Snow falling across a “tundra-like” plain.
These were the conditions soldiers faced in the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir.
For 17 days in late 1950, around 30,000 UN soldiers battled harsh cold in the North Korean mountains against over 120,000 Chinese troops. This battle is known as one of the most brutal of the Korean War, with limited supplies and no chance of reinforcements.
Among the American soldiers was 19-year-old Cpl. John Albert Spruell, a son and brother from Cortez, Colorado. He served in Battery B, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division, and fought near the village of Hagaru-ri by the reservoir.
South Korean honour guards paid tribute to UN veterans of the Korean War by carrying flags of the UN allied nations during the 'Turn Toward Busan' memorial ceremony. The ceremony took place at the UN Memorial Cemetery in Busan on November 11, 2020. 
Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images
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The fighting and the cold killed hundreds.
Many others who participated in US military clashes across the world for centuries were considered missing. When the intense battles at the Chosin Reservoir ended, the young soldier from Colorado was not listed as one of the casualties. However, there was also no proof that Spruell had been captured by the enemy, according to the Army.
On December 6, 1950, the branch concluded that Spruell was "Missing In Action."
In Cortez, Spruell's family was left to ponder the fate of their soldier. His mother, Pauline Sleeper, may have known more than she let on, as some relatives believed even at that time.
Her child was dead.
Still, though, she and her family had nothing to bury.
After the war, both sides started Operation Glory in 1954 to exchange remains of Korean War soldiers. A set of remains was found near where the 57th Field Artillery fought at the Chosin Reservoir. Some say it belonged to a soldier from that unit.
A “tentative association” was made between the set and Spruell, the US Defense Department’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said.
But there was no definitive proof.
The set of remains, like many others, was assigned a code - Unknown X-15754. It was then sent to Honolulu and laid to rest at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl due to its location within an extinct volcano, as mentioned by the agency.
Additionally, Spruell's name was documented at the cemetery's Courts of the Missing. This is where the names of 8,210 Americans who went missing during the Korean War were inscribed when the memorial was established in 1966.
The lost corporal's family eventually moved on. His older brother started a family and named one of his sons after the brother who never returned from Korea. However, the brother hardly ever mentioned the young man who was last seen near the Chosin Reservoir, halfway across the world, according to another one of his children, Dennis Spruell.
Dennis Spruell admitted that he didn't know much about his uncle. He mentioned that his family never really discussed it.
On the other hand, Donna Lee Bailey, Dennis' cousin who was born after John Spruell went missing in the war, shared that Sleeper never lost hope that her son would come back.
“His mother,” she told CNN, “always said he would come home.”
A DNA specimen and a fated phone call
The Army had listed Spruell as missing, but they were working to solve such cases. They asked Dennis Spruell for a DNA sample, which has become crucial in solving old mysteries.
In the summer of 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency suggested digging up 652 Korean War Unknowns buried at the Punchbowl to identify and return them to their families.
Cpl. John A. Spruell
Cpl. John A. Spruell
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has been working since 1982 to identify American soldiers who were killed in the Korean War. So far, they have identified over 450 individuals, in addition to the initial 2,000 whose remains were returned at the end of the war. However, there are still over 7,500 US soldiers from the conflict who have not been accounted for.
It took three years for the agency to find the remains known as X-15754 and finally send them to a laboratory for analysis. Nearly 70 years after they were brought back from the Chosin Reservoir zone, scientists used various methods such as dental, anthropological, chest radiographs/x-rays, and DNA testing to examine the Unknown X-15754 specimens.
Then last August, the agency made a positive ID.
More recently, it called Dennis Spruell with the news.
The remains known for decades only as X-15754 were what the tentative link had suggested: those of his uncle, Cpl. John A. Spruell.
And now, Bailey said, “he’s coming home.”
Spruell's childhood friend, Charles Haley, is one of the few remaining relatives still alive. He remembers that Spruell did not return for their senior year in high school.
Haley shared, "Everyone assumed he had joined the Army, and that was the last we heard of it. We never received any updates." Haley also ended up enlisting in the Army and was stationed in Japan.
He has fond memories of being silly with his friend when they were kids, and they would often play pranks.
Haley has always been diligent in ensuring that there is a flag on the headstone honoring Spruell in Cortez cemetery. She makes sure to switch them out when one becomes tattered or goes missing.
"It was a great relief for him to hear that they identified the body and will be able to have a service. Both of his parents are no longer alive, so knowing what happened to him brings some closure."
"The reunion of a mother and child"
Dennis Spruell expressed his gratitude to the Army for their extraordinary efforts to honor a fallen soldier. He mentioned to CNN that their actions exceeded his expectations.
According to the MIA/POW agency and Spruell's family, his remains will be laid to rest in Cortez, Colorado. A rosette will be placed beside his name at the Courts of the Missing, indicating that he has been found. Additionally, he will receive the military decorations he rightfully deserves, including the Purple Heart, as confirmed by US Army Mortuary Affairs Officer James Bell in an interview with CNN.
It is bittersweet to confirm John Spruell's remains. Bailey expressed sadness that his siblings, who were her aunts, uncles, and dad, did not live long enough to learn about his history.
Even though Sleeper has passed away, a relative has her ashes. Now, with her warrior son's remains returning home, the stage is set for the reunion that his mother always believed would happen.
“They’re hoping,” Bailey said, “to be able to bury them together.”
Editor's P/S:
The Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, fought in the frigid Korean mountains, was a testament to the resilience and sacrifice of the UN soldiers who endured unimaginable conditions. Among them was Cpl. John Albert Spruell, a young man from Colorado who went missing in action. For decades, his family clung to the hope that he would return, while his remains lay unidentified in Honolulu.
The use of DNA testing and the tireless efforts of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency have finally brought closure to the Spruell family. The identification of Cpl. Spruell's remains is a reminder of the importance of honoring our fallen soldiers and the sacrifices made by their families. It is also a testament to the power of perseverance and the enduring love that transcends time and distance. As Cpl. Spruell is laid to rest in his hometown, his story serves as a reminder of the horrors of war and the importance of remembering those who gave their lives in the service of their country.
