Waterbury family hopeful as North Korea returns possible US remains

<p>One Waterbury family has renewed hope after North Korea turned over the possible remains of American service members who went missing during the Korean War.&nbsp;</p>

News 12 Staff

Jul 27, 2018, 7:46 PM

Updated 2,271 days ago

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One Waterbury family has renewed hope after North Korea turned over the possible remains of American service members who went missing during the Korean War.
The Department of Defense lists 77 military members from Connecticut that went missing in action during the Korean War. A Waterbury woman's brother was among the missing.
Sgt. Victor Choiniere joined the Army when he was 17. He became a member of the medical corps and was in Korea for only 11 days when he disappeared on Nov. 27, 1950.
His sister, 79-year-old Claire George, has a tribute wall for him in her home. She and other family members have waited for decades wondering what happened to him.
"It's like it might just happen in my lifetime," George said. "I had kind of given up--I said, 'Oh well, I guess I'll just see him when I die, he's up there with the rest of my family.' But it would be nice. It would be nice to get his remains and know we've actually gotten him back."
A US plane flew the remains to an air base in South Korea, where service members were waiting. A total of 55 cases were brought off, one by one.
The exact number of remains in the cases and the exact number of American troops is unknown.
Extensive DNA testing will be done at a military lab in Hawaii.